#BACKPACKERS GUIDE TO THE UNIVERSE PART 1

[retrocgads]

UK 1985

[greenandsorrow]

"Boytoy"

WARNINGS; 18+, shameless smut, ken x fem!reader, reader uses she/her pronouns, praise k!nk, size k!nk, virgin!ken, switch!reader, sub!ken, dom!ken, the plot doesn't connect with the movie, kinda slow burn, grammar mistakes

Part 1

"you're a doll, you are flawless"

~flawless, the neighborhood~

Y/n has finally graduated from high school. Not only that, but thanks to her hard work, she's been admitted to a prestigious university only two hours away from her parents' house.

Still, even though the distance between her childhood home and her new school is not that important, y/n is currently packing and will soon be moving into her new, small studio apartment.

It's late in the morning and she's going through her old toys, preserved in cardboard boxes at the back of her closet. Her y/h/c hair's on a bun and she's wearing sweatpants.

Earlier the same morning, with her mom's priceless help, she had managed to go through her desk, bookshelf and drawers, organising, packing or simply putting away all the stuff that has been collected in her bedroom the last eighteen years.

"A dozen Barbie dolls and only one Ken.", she thinks aloud as she's tackling the last box, filled with childhood memories.

Ken is staring at her from the bottom of the box and y/n almost feels guilty at how much she used to ignore him during her childhood play time.

In one impulsive motion she picks him up, while observing his perfect abs, blonde hair contradicting the tan colour of his skin and his cute set of beach wear (stripped shorts and open flannel in pink and blue pastels).

"Poor guy, I've been unfair to you, haven't I?", she chuckles mostly to herself.

~~

At around six in the afternoon y/n's done with packing. She's actually driving to her new place as we speak. What's more, she unconsciously threw Ken in her backpack and is now carrying him along with her. Not that he would complain if he knew.

Y/n's Ken doll has been a part of her toy collection since she was six (she stopped playing with dolls at nine). Unlike her beloved Barbie dolls, Ken's never been y/n's favourite. He's always been just.... there. He was simply included in a Barbie set that her parents gifted her with, at her sixth birthday.

Back at Barbieland, Ken has been facing the consequences of his owner's ignorance for as long as he can remember. While all of y/n's Barbies are confident and spending their days living happily ever after (the aftermath of y/n's love and attention), Ken has always been the black sheep. He isn't exactly bursting with confidence. Neither does he own a Dream house. He's also never invited to the parties the Barbies are often having and to say the least, Ken is lonely. He wishes he could say that he enjoys being by himself most of the time, but without even another Ken, his existence seems pointless.

Ken used to cherish the sporadic attention he would get during y/n's early years in life. An outfit change, a walk at the beach or a small talk with one of the Barbies, guided by his owner was all he needed to feel somehow included (or that's what he always tried to convince himself).

Ken, with his limited knowledge regarding the real world, had concluded that the lack of what little attention he was receiving, was due to the fact that the little girl whose possession he was in, had now turned into a young lady. And having the Barbies as an example of how a lady is, he wasn't surprised that the girl had no use for him whatsoever.

~~

Y/n wakes up in the morning, feeling groggy and disoriented. She wishes she could blame that on the environment change, but the truth is, last night she had a rather strange dream.

Y/n's pov:

She had reached her destination at about eight in the evening. After discussing some final details with her unexpectedly sweet landlady, she called her mom to inform her that she's alright and has settled in. Y/n had also managed to unpack most of her things, including her Ken doll that was laying on her desk when she changed into her matching pyjama set and got comfy in the warmth of her brand new, king sized bed.

After such a long day, y/n was equally drained both physically and mentally. The prospect of living alone, without the comfort of her parents' presence, was already enough to trouble her poor brain. On top of that, classes started tomorrow, leaving y/n no time to adjust to her new living conditions. And don't get me started on the actual unpacking and settling in process! All these heavy boxes, suitcases and IKEA furniture had gotten the best of y/n. Obviously, as soon as she found a comfortable position to sleep in, she immediately drifted off.

Y/n's sleep was disturbed by a shuffling sound, coming from the other side of the room. Normally, under any other circumstances, she would be terrified to spot the dark figure of a tall, strong looking man, staring at her in the middle of the night, after probably having broken into her apartment. However that was not the case. In her state of sleepiness and dizziness, her focus fading in and out of consciousness, her brain fuzzy and not entirely awake, y/n didn't feel any amount of fear but translated the image in front of her as part of a dream.

And what was this image in front of her, you may ask. Well, her previously unwanted Ken doll, was now at the feet of her bed, standing six foot tall, looking down at her with an adorably confused expression carved on his otherwise perfect features.

~~

Ken's pov:

Ken was incredibly lucky that y/n thought she was dreaming, because not only didn't she scream at him to get the hell out, but she actually smiled at him. A small, uncertain and sleepy smile, no less a genuine smile. Even in his own state of confusion, Ken felt his insides melt at the sight of this small woman in front of him, smiling at him, actually noticing him.

He advanced closer to the head of the bed, so that he could take a better look at the girl who was sitting there. Ken sat at the edge of the bed and immediately recognised the person in question. She was clearly y/n. The girl who used to play with him and the Barbies was looking at him with intense interest and a glint in her y/e/c eyes that he had never seen before.

He took in her features. Ken had somehow expected to come face to face with a child, but obviously y/n was no longer a little girl but a beautiful woman. Sure, living in Barbieland Ken had learnt that all women were beautiful, however his old "owner" wasn't pretty in the sense a Barbie was pretty. Studying her features, Ken noticed y/n's hair wasn't neatly done like the Barbies', her skin dimpled and crised when she smiled, her teeth weren't the perfect shade of white or identical to one another, the apples of her cheeks were pinkish with sleep and her eyes held a warmth and complexity that made his stomach flutter. Ken was entranced by the simple image of this young lady, without any makeup or pretty clothes. He even felt like he had some kind of power over her, since she was so much smaller than him. He caught himself thinking that he could fit her whole face in the palm of his hand. The sudden urge to be the one to protect her and have the exclusivity of seeing her so unkempt and "naked" washed over him.

"Oh my!! You're actually Ken!", it was y/n that broke the silence, with her thrilled remark about the person who seemed lost in thought in front of her.

Ken was abruptly brought back to reality. How could something like this even happen? It should be practically impossible. One moment he was taking a nap at the beach and the next thing he knew, he was sitting in a chair in a dark room he concluded belonged to y/n. He might not be the brightest guy (the Kens weren't supposed to be smarter than the Barbies anyway) but he realised something very wrong was happening. The dolls living in Barbieland weren't supposed to be able to come to the real world.

~~

"Y/n! Hey! I never thought I'd meet you in person."

She simply giggled at that. Her giggle was spontaneous and made Ken blush, since he was so unfamiliar with women reacting to him in such a way. Her expression was so girly, almost shy, making Ken bolder than he felt. He climbed all the way onto the bed so that they were basically sitting next to each other.

Y/n felt her face growing warmer and not because of the sleepiness. "That's a very realistic dream", she thought to herself. But exactly because she had convinced herself that Ken was part of her imagination she was also about to act bolder than her usual self.

She turned her body so that she was facing him and not just sitting next to him. Y/n then extended an arm in order to brush away some stray hairs that had fallen in his face. That simple motion was enough to make Ken's heart beat as loud as a hammer and he believed y/n could actually hear it from where she was sitting, so close to him. To his utter surprise, she didn't retrieve her hand after making sure his (ridiculously soft) hair was back in place.

Maybe y/n would be intimidated by Ken's perfect posture and dreamy eyes, by his chiseled jawline and veiny hands or by the fact that his pupils were dilated more than was necessary for the dark around them (there were fairy lights all around the room) if she were to meet him face to face in real life. But y/n was in a dream (or so she thought). Her dream, her rules and she showed no sign of intimidation.

With the hand that had just brushed Ken's hair, she proceeded to cup his face, while caressing his perfectly carved cheek bone with the pad of her thumb. Ken closed his eyes at the sensation, since no one had ever showed him tenderness like that. His reaction to her touch only encouraged y/n to continue exploring this life sized Ken doll.

With nimble fingers that made Ken's breath hitch multiple times, she started caressing him, beginning with his collarbones and slowly making a trail over his toned chest to his lower abs. His skin was soft and warm to the touch and y/n's mind was quick to put together multiple ungodly thoughts.

Ken's hands had reached and grabbed the bedsheets as soon as y/n's teasing ones had started going over his abs, torturously slow. Of course he didn't know why he felt the way he did, she was just touching him (as a doll he never had been subjected to anything remotely sexual before this very moment), but he could feel a weird anticipation gathering at the pit of his stomach (and lower). Oddly enough, he didn't move, he didn't even speak, scared that he would destroy this peculiar situation he'd found himself in. He told himself that "You're a doll and this human girl is simply... playing with you?". It didn't sound right but it certainly felt good.

When she reached at his lower abdomen, just below his belly button, y/n drew her hands back. He had felt so real to the touch she started to question her previous belief that she was merely dreaming.

Ken saw her expression change from lustful (he didn't know that's what it was called), to a placated one. She searched his face for an answer, without realising how her doe eyes had captured every bit of Ken's attention.

"Y/n", he whispered under a shaky inhale, leaning towards her like a moth hypnotized by the flame.

"I'm sorry Ken, I really am."

"About what?!", he asked, generally confused.

"When I was little I-"

"Can I kiss you, please?" he knew that much. He had never given a real kiss back in Barbieland but at least he was familiar with the concept.

Y/n was lost for words. A sudden realization that this felt too real to be any short of wet dream had dawned on her (if that was the case she would have woken up by now). When she didn't answer right away, Ken turned his hot gaze on her parted lips. They were swollen from sleep and rozy but not in the manufactured way the Barbies' lips look in the morning. He had to fight back the urge to attack her mouth with his own, since he was still waiting for her consent.

Y/n finally gave the smallest nod, indicating shyness and reluctance, though her gaze was once again intense, making Ken's breath get caught in his throat.

He leaned in, gently but no less eagerly and was pleasantly surprised (not for the last time) when y/n, leaning towards him as well, connected their lips in a soft, slow and lingering kiss.

Y/n's hot breath on his mouth made Ken gasp and draw himself even closer to *his* girl, while his right hand, moving on its own, reached for her already messy hair, tagging at it softly.

Y/n was equally surprised by the kiss. Ken's lips were unbelievably soft and his body emitted a warmth that sent shivers down her spine. She rubbed her thighs together (a motion in which Ken was oblivious to for the time being) as she reached for his neck, taking the lead. She drew him even closer to her, their chests colliding. Ken gasped -again- at the sensation of her round breasts pressing against his mascular body and he reacted by snaking both arms around her narrow waist.

When y/n took Ken's bottom lip between her teeth, tagging at it softly, he let out the smallest moan. In return he drew back, only to smash his lips on her own once more, with a passion and an urgency that made y/n weak in his strong arms. Her tongue asked for access he happily gave and he found himself backing his hips against her as their tongues swirled around one another for the first time.

When they parted, they were both breathless and panting heavily. Ken looked at y/n with an adoration that made her short circuit. He had never felt that important to anyone, but the tight grip she had on his biceps was proof that she wanted him. Really wanted him, needed him, even. Ken was important to her, at least at that moment.

This blissful state of his was short lived, due to y/n standing up and turning on the big light on the ceiling.

After taking a moment so that his vision could readjust to the light, Ken's eyes found y/n again. She was standing now and he took a mental note to never forget how tiny and young, how vulnerable she looked in her gray pyjama set with her tousled hair all over, like a miniature lioness. To be honest, Ken didn't have the right words to describe what he was seeing, but the warmth in his chest (and an unexplainable discomfort in his breeches) was enough for him.

"Oh shit-

Oh my gosh....I wasn't dreaming, was I?"

Y/n looked shocked and Ken grew hot with embarrassment because of it.

"I'm just as confused as you are, y/n", at least he was able to say something. Because now the light was on, he could see her feminine figure and wanted nothing more than to squish her round thighs and then-

"I mean... you're actually Ken...like... HOW?!"

"Please don't be angry at me, I can't explain how or why, but instead of waking up in Barbieland I woke up here", he said with an apologetic look on his face, while standing up like a child that just got scolded.

Y/n took a deep breath in, deciding he was too damn hot to actually be angry at him. It also wasn't his fault and at the end of the day she liked the idea of having a "boytoy" so eager and sweet. She really hadn't done Ken justice as a child but thought she could pay him back now.

You see, y/n's father is working for Mattel and she knows some things the average person doesn't. For one thing, she's aware that Barbieland exists and that on some very rare occasions the dolls come to the real world.

"It's alright Ken. I know it's not your fault"

Hearing her voice was not only soothing to him, but his name on her mouth made him lightheaded.

"but you have to get back. I don't know what it could mean to my world that you're here."

At the sound of that final statement, Ken visibly frowned and felt a weight settling in his chest. He had just come to this world and on top of that he and y/n had shared enough kisses to be considered boyfriend and girlfriend according to Barbieland standards.

He reminded himself, as always, he's just Ken. He's always second, even if for a moment he felt like a ten, lost in y/n's tender but also hot touch.

"I understand, y/n. I'll leave then and get back to Barbieland", not that he knew how.

She too felt she didn't want him to leave just yet, the tension was so thick she could almost see it all around them. Nevertheless, it was past midnight and she had three morning classes tomorrow, so she let Ken go without uttering another word.

To say the least, Ken was heartbroken. In one night he had experienced so many new sensations and emotions and he knew he wouldn't be able to get y/n out of his head no matter how hard he'd try. He ended up dozing off while sitting on her doorstep, looking at the stars and imagining y/n's small hands caressing him lower and lower until...

~~

UPDATE!! THIS STORY HAS BEEN FINISHED, LOOK AT MY MASTERLIST FOR THE FOLLOWING PARTS!

notes~~

Hello beautiful people! I hope you enjoyed part 1 of my Ken smut fic :) It's meant to be just spice but I wanted to add some context too. This is also my first time posting anything on Tumblr!

Dividers by; @cafekitsune

my masterlist

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[sparksqfly]

─ So much for summer love𓆝 part 2

synopsis: modern au - you meet ellie during a school activity and start getting involved in an intense relationship. warnings! bad words, men being bothersome, pet names? (princess, good girl etc), author's note: i wanted to post this a long time ago, but my computer broke down. it was really stressful because i have all my university entrance papers and all my fanfics here, so that was terrifying. but it's all sorted now! this is the second part of the story, and i think there's only one more part left to publish unless you want me to do an epilogue or something. again, english is not my first language, so i apologize for any mistakes i may have made. thank you for reading <3 about the story: joel is referred to as ellie's father. references to taylor swift and her music, the reader is a huge swiftie (just like the writer hehehe), references to jurassic park, ellie plays soccer. the next part is my favorite ;) i'm going to try to publish it before next week.

wc: 4k - part 1 - taglist: @elliesinterlude @libr4sonsa

you thought everyone would be pushing each other to be the first ones out once the order was given, but surprisingly, they were all in line in front of several people who didn't seem like teachers. you focused your attention on them and observed the bags they were distributing to the students in line, it seemed to be a requirement to start the race. ellie squeezed your hand before letting go, which surprised you. had you done something wrong? had you made her uncomfortable? before you could continue torturing your mind with questions, a teacher, whom you didn't know, so you assumed he was from another school, handed both of you a paper bag. "what our kind guides are giving you is your lunch, you can eat it at any time, but remember that you won't be given another one," mr. emery spoke again, he seemed very talkative today.

after a few minutes of talking, one of the guides who had given them the paper bags with their lunch passed behind ellie and gently squeezed her shoulder with his hand before moving away. that's when you connected the dots and realized that the man was the same one who had helped you and write your number on your hand, meaning he was ellie's father. you suppressed a smile, thinking that ellie had possibly become shy in front of her father, which is why she had let go. you sought her gaze and saw her kneeling on the ground, storing her lunch bag in her large backpack. "do you want me to keep yours, doll?" you smiled and crouched down to her level to hand her your bag more comfortably, taking the opportunity to briefly rest your hand on ellie's forearm, tracing her tattoo with the tips of your fingers. "thank you, darling," you said innocently, and smiled to yourself as you saw that now it was you who had made her blush, and you stood up victorious.

obviously, the victory didn't last long when you were pushed by what seemed like thousands of teenagers running wild to escape into the forest. once you regained stability, you looked at ellie, who seemed just as bewildered as you. she stood up, slinging the backpack over her shoulder, and grabbed your hand again. "looks like we're the last ones," she chuckled, puzzled, as she looked around. indeed, the designated area for searching those damn symbols on the trees was bigger than you had thought. so big that from the starting point of the race, there was no sign of a purple ribbon marking a boundary. "intimidating," you said, and you intertwined your fingers with ellie's even tighter. "at least you're with me, right?" ellie chuckled softly, and you looked at her with a silly grin on your face. "i'll skip that eccentric tone, williams," you squinted your eyes, gazing at her intently. she brought your fingers to her lips and planted a subtle kiss on them as she began walking into the forest with you.

you walked hand in hand for a while. you thought you would encounter several groups of noisy teenagers, but the truth was, you hadn't come across anyone along the way. "this may sound strange, but forests make me a little uncomfortable. i feel like i'm in some kind of glass jar where anyone can put anything inside," you thought she would give you a weird look, but surprisingly, she nodded her head. "it's like trying to imagine all," she said. as strange as it sounded, both of you seemed to feel even more at ease with each other after that moment of honesty. ellie mustered the courage to continue talking about the forest. she mentioned that since she was little, her father used to take her to forests. he believed in the importance of connecting with old-school methods, something you had also noticed. ellie had not taken out her phone at any point, not even to check the time. out of curiosity, you asked her if she had one, to which she responded, "of course I do. i like dinosaurs, but i don't want to be one." before she could even finish, you turned around, looking at her completely, "you like dinosaurs?!" she smiled and nodded at you. "a few kilometers from my house, when i was still a child, there was a dinosaur exhibition where they set up a display for children, and paleontologists came to give talks. i remember begging joel, my dad, to take me there," you widened your eyes as she spoke. "is it that natural science museum with a giant dna at the entrance?" you asked excitedly as you pulled out your phone. ellie thought for a few seconds before answering, "yeah..."

completely excited, you took out your phone from your bag and showed her a photo that your mother had sent you a few weeks ago, from that same exhibition where you were at 7 years old, posing with an older man who you remembered introduced himself as a famous paleontologist who had discovered several key fossil pieces for history. ellie's eyes widened, and she touched your hand to bring your phone closer to her face with a look of astonishment. "i also have a photo with that man! i remember joel thought he was dressed up as the doctor from the jurassic park movie, so he took a picture of me and my uncle with him," she said with excitement. "my father thought the same!" with a silly grin on your lips, you grabbed her face, holding her cheeks in your hands. "we both were in the same place, at the same time when we were kids, and we ended up being race partners 10 years later," you paused dramatically before continuing, seeing her smile. "do you believe in destiny?" she smiled even wider, put her hands on your hips, and gently pushed you backward, your back perfectly supported against a tree. "maybe i do now, sugar." you couldn't hide your smile, you were dying to kiss her at that moment. but as always happened with women, you were too cowardly. so you just kept looking into her beautiful eyes and lowered your hands to her neck, playing with the line of her jaw and the edge of her shirt.

you two stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, ellie continued to gaze at you with her green eyes while softly stroking your waist with her right thumb. a thousand thoughts raced through your mind all at once. you imagined countless scenarios where your lips met and stayed that way for hours, scenarios where you walked together hand in hand through your neighborhood, both sipping coffee at your favorite café, and spending evenings lying in your house talking for hours.

both of you let go when you heard the voices of approaching teenagers nearby. as you moved away from the tree, you noticed a paper hanging from a branch just above ellie's head. it was a caricature-like drawing of a house, and you quickly reached for your phone, only to realize that ellie had taken it and kept it in her back pocket to tease you. when she saw what had caught your attention, she handed it back to you, and you took a few steps back to capture a photo. zooming in, you perfectly captured the paper with the drawn symbol and the top of your companion's head. in the photo, only her auburn hair and curious eyes were visible. you showed her the photo, and you noticed a blush rising on her cheeks. "to me, that's not a symbol, it's a drawing," ellie said, taking your free hand and starting to walk aimlessly.

you walked together for about fifteen minutes, observing the forest. to be honest, you had never ventured far into any forest before, but this one had a special allure and to be honest with yourself, you loved that forest because it was just like the forest on the cover of one of your favorite albums, "folklore" by taylor twift.. the dirt floor was covered in dry leaves, falling due to the autumn season, and the trees were slender but towering. it would be unfair to say that you didn't come across any other drawings, as both of you were lost in each other, talking incessantly. ellie spotted another page, this time secured to a tree with a nail, and while she listened to you talk about a girl who almost became your girlfriend, she discreetly took out her phone from the small pocket of her backpack. "look, y/n! another paper," she said, pointing in the direction of the tree with her finger. when you turned, she took a photo, but the sound of her camera gave her away. you pretended to furrow your brow upon seeing her, but she smiled and showed you the photo where you appeared with your back turned, hair tied up to cover your face, looking at the paper that had a drawing of what seemed to be a duck, or at least that was what you were able to deduce. ellie turned the phone back to her. "so pretty," she said in a childish voice. you bit your lip, feeling embarrassed, and grabbed her hand to search for the next symbol.

"is this some kind of competition? to see who takes the photos?" ellie asked, this time she changed the position of her hands so that both of you could interlace your fingers. "it would have been fun, but i think it's only fair that both of us appear in the next photo," you stroked the back of her hand. "sounds fair," she said, turning her head to look for the last sheet, but you quickly spotted another one. this last one depicted two people, but as you guided ellie towards the last paper, you realized that none of these three drawings seemed to be related to each other, although you weren't going to take the school staff's attempts at organization too seriously. it had always been better to ignore their efforts.

you let go of ellie's hand and took out your phone to use the front camera. you looked at your reflection on the screen, you looked good. the little makeup you had applied hadn't smudged, and you still appeared well-groomed. you raised the arm holding the phone and gestured with your head for ellie to stand next to you in the photo. once she stood beside you, bending down a little to match your height, you pressed the capture button and told ellie that you would take another one. she nodded, and in the instant you took the photo, she quickly grabbed your chin, bringing her lips to yours. you felt weak, and with the few thoughts that remained, you turned off the screen of your phone and tucked it into your bra, eager to hold her by the shoulders and bring her closer to you. ellie clasped her hands behind your waist, embracing you.

you parted your lips and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear when she kissed you again.

you responded just as intensely while caressing her neck, releasing the tension of finally doing what you had planned since you got off that damn bus, which now seemed even more distant.

"hey, williams! how do you always manage to get the girls?" a male voice almost shouted, causing you to separate from ellie, even though that was the last thing you wanted to do at that moment. just to the right of both of you were three boys who were smiling, especially at you. you sighed with annoyance and lowered your head, hiding in ellie's neck. she let go of you and placed a hand on the back of your neck, further hiding you in her embrace. "go fuck yourself, jack. find someone who can put up with you and get the fuck out," ellie told him, but this time her voice was different from what you had heard throughout the afternoon. it was raspier and stronger, indicating that she was on guard.

immediately, the boys left, and you emerged from your refuge in ellie's body. you placed a hand on your face, trying to hide how flushed you were by the situation. ellie grabbed your wrist and moved your hand away from your face, looking at you with puppy eyes. "i'm sorry about that. if you're worried, they won't say anything. they don't even know you. they're just my soccer teammates, and they can be overly invasive. i don't even know why they say that; i haven't been seen with a girl in over a year, and i..." you smiled at how nervous she was and gave her a quick peck on the lips. she smiled, understanding what you meant. "i don't care, els. i love being seen with you. they just caught me by surprise and ruined our first kiss," you feigned distress, only to have ellie embrace you again and kiss you slowly once more.

she gave you another peck, hugging you around the waist, and you brought your hands to her hair, caressing it gently. "we should go show those damn photos before those idiots not only interrupt us again but also beat us to it," you said. she let go of you but placed her hands on your waist to guide you. as you followed ellie towards what you hoped was the exit of that first stage, you glanced at your phone, preparing the photos to show your teachers. clearly, the first one that appeared on your screen was the one of you kissing your companion. you stared at it for a while, admiring how beautiful it looked and how you could see ellie's hand gently pushing you towards her. "i look good in that photo, don't i?" Ellie mentioned with a half-smile, showing a hint of arrogance. "only because of the lovely girl you have by your side," you said as you lightly tapped her shoulder. before you could tap her again, she gently took your hand and brought it to her lips, giving it a brief kiss.

after walking for a while and continuing to talk about nonsensical things, you arrived at the exit point of the line, where two teachers you had never seen before were waiting. you assumed they were from another school. what caught your attention was that this time ellie hadn't let go of your hand when approaching them. "i assume you two have the photos ready to show us. and don't want any hints," you guessed that the teacher wanted to sound cool, but it actually came across as quite eerie. luckily, it was ellie who took charge of talking to him. "of course, we have them, sir" she said as she took out her phone to show the photo she had taken of you earlier with the sheet that had a duck drawn on it. you hurriedly took out your phone to show tllie's teacher the photo of the woman and the duck, being careful not to reveal the photo of the kiss.

"perfect! you've got everything. now you're going to enter the fun stage of this activity," your gaze met ellie's for a second, and she tried to suppress a smile. "with those three pictures you found, you're going to create a story! something short that fits on this sheet," she took out a small sheet of paper and a pencil from her backpack and handed them to you. "you have 5 minutes. you can go over there, where the cut logs are for sitting, and bring us a good one!" ellie smiled uncomfortably and took your hand, leading you to the designated spot.

"so... a story," ellie said, sitting on the ground with her legs crossed and placing the paper on her lap. you remained standing and nodded. "we have a duck, a woman, and a house," you said, looking at the photos on your phone again. "right, we need to keep it brief," she said, tapping the paper with the pencil as if it were a drumstick. "we can say that this woman has a house in the countryside with her girlfriend, and they adopt a duck," you said with a smile. ellie laughed and wrote it down on the paper. "that's us!" "of course! with rufus, obviously," ellie nodded and continued to focus on the paper. "do you mind if we stay here until those 5 minutes are up?" you shook your head and prepared to sit down, but she stopped you and took out a waterproof jacket from her backpack to place it on the ground. she gestured for you to sit on the jacket. "it's a pretty dress," she excused herself.

if you had thought for 5 more seconds, you probably wouldn't have done what you did, but you took the paper and pencil from her lap and sat on her legs. she was surprised for a moment but quickly wrapped her arms around your waist. "i'm glad you liked it. i wore it to impress my partner," you said, placing a hand on her arm and caressing it. you were surprised when she rested her head on your back and relaxed. that's how you stayed for a few minutes until you heard the same teacher approaching again. you quickly stood up from her lap and handed him the folded sheet with the mini-story.

he looked at you a bit strangely, possibly because he had seen you quickly get up from ellie's lap and adjust your dress. you were thankful that he didn't say anything and simply tucked the paper into his pocket. amidst small laughs, ellie and you followed him back to the starting point of the second stage, your hand lightly and slowly brushing against ellie's. you saw her suppress a smile as if the touch of your two hands tickled her. "okay, ladies," ellie's teacher said, looking at both of them sternly. "we're going to give you a list of items that you'll have to find in this part of the forest. you can use your cell phones or bring those things with you. when you finish this stage, you can take a few minutes to have lunch and then resume the activities." mr. lee untied the purple ribbon that was tied to two trees to let them pass. ellie thanked him and nodded at you to go first, so you waited for her before continuing.

you were grateful that the moment you were out of the teachers' sight, she took your hand and intertwined her fingers with yours. even though you had only known her for a few hours, it felt wrong to walk through the forest without holding hands. "did you read what's on the list?" you asked, looking at her profile. She was focused on the sheet and nodded her head. "an object made by humans, something that shines, something that could be used in a survival situation, and something that reminds them of their school," ellie read and then looked at you. you returned a confused look and tiptoed to give her a kiss on the cheek. "i hope you have good eyesight, babe," you said, letting her guide you. she laughed and squeezed your hand, tucking the list into her pants pocket.

well... 20 minutes had passed, and they only had "an object that reminds them of school" left. you hadn't been very helpful in finding the previous items; ellie had found everything. except for "something shiny." thanks to your keen eye for shiny things, you had found a small necklace in the roots of a tree. ellie wiped the little pendant on her jeans to keep your dress from getting dirty, and they continued their search. ellie had found a slightly dented can that would work, and under a small rock, a medium-sized piece of rope, a bit covered in dirt, but she excused it, saying it would do. "and in a survival situation, why would you use a dirty rope?" you asked, raising an eyebrow. "it can be useful for setting up a camp, for a bonfire, and even for making weapons," she proudly replied. she had told you something about how her father considered it important to teach her survival skills and basic things to do in an emergency. "i would use it for something different," you said, gently nudging her with your shoulder. she looked at you, amazed by your sudden desire to make risqué jokes. "i'll let that one slide, princess. i don't want what that joke could imply to come true in this forest," ellie said. you blushed violently while laughing with your face hidden in her arm. She lowered her head to give you a kiss on the hair. 

they grabbed a small can that was somewhat dirty and dented but would still serve for what they needed, which for the moment was to find "something that reminds them of school."

"if what they wanted was to nourish my academic spirit with that rule, all they're achieving is making me want to stay and live in this forest and never go back to that damn school again," ellie muttered, letting herself fall onto a cut log and hiding her face in her hands, visibly exhausted. she looked up, gazing at the trees, but none of the competing pairs seemed to have found that object yet, or at least that's what they both believed. they had crossed paths with many people, and they all asked them the same question, "do you have any idea of what can be used as the object that represents the school?" both of them answered no, and the cycle repeated itself.

you knelt on the ground in front of ellie, resting your head on her lap as you closed your eyes for a moment, deep in thought. she took the opportunity to gently caress your hair, being careful not to mess it up. you smiled, feeling her hands glide over your scalp and touch the bun that held a portion of your hair back. "so pretty," ellie whispered to herself, and you finally lifted your head to look at her. she smiled at you, and with one hand, she softly caressed your jaw, making you feel like you could fall asleep with your head resting on her. "are you tired, princess?" ellie asked, raising your head slightly so you could meet her gaze. "actually, yes. my legs are a bit sore, and i'm hungry," you replied. she smiled at you and lifted you up with her. "let's finish this shit quickly so we can rest and eat," she said. you nodded and let ellie take your hand to guide you.

"okay, listen to me for a moment," ellie said after pausing with wide-open eyes and a lost look in her gaze. she continued, turning on her heels and looking at you with a smile. "you scare me," you said, seeing her so happy. "we cut a piece of the ribbon they use for boundaries," ellie almost shouted, her expression as if she had solved some incredibly complicated equation, and in that moment, at least, it felt like it. you sighed, "oh, come on, it's a great idea, or at least the only one we have," ellie said the last sentence, putting on her best puppy eyes, and you looked at her again. "look, it's a terrible and irresponsible idea. we could cause an accident or make others lose. we could even face some penalties," you said, explaining with your hands the consequences it could lead to. "but..." ellie interrupted you, "but I'm really hungry. go grab that damn ribbon," you said with exasperation. ellie laughed, possibly because she hadn't heard you curse until now. you gave her a little push to hurry her up.

obviously, the last thing you expected was for her to approach the ribbon and take out a knife from her pocket as if it were nothing. you watched as she tore the small piece of fabric disproportionately, leaving it frayed on both ends. since it was a long ribbon, ellie was still able to tie the two ends where she had cut it, recreating the boundary. "do you always carry knives on casual school outings?" you asked her as you delicately took the ribbon from her hands. "only when I have a damsel in distress as a companion," she said, smiling slyly. arrogant bitch, you really adored her.

[umichenginabroad]

Visiting Vietnam Part 2 (Week 17)

With one day left in the Hanoi area, we scheduled a day tour to Ninh Binh where we biked around rice fields surrounded by mountains, took a boat trip down a river in Tam Coc which went through three different caves, climbed up steps to Lying Dragon Mountain, and visited Dinh King temple. The various mini-adventures were all stunning, but it was hard for me to properly appreciate them after spending three days in the most beautiful environment I’ve ever laid eyes on. The intensely hot and humid weather (which wasn’t a problem in the mountains of Ha Giang) didn’t help either. Just a few minutes of walking outside was followed by sweat and dehydration. If anything, this weather encouraged us to always have a smoothie or juice of some sort in our hands. For $1-2, the drink options are endless and we sure took advantage. Once we returned to Hanoi, we quickly made our way to the airport and flew to Ho Chi Minh City where we were spending the next two days.

^ The view from Lying Dragon Mountain

Our first day in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, was spent exploring the city and doing a food tour in which we once again rode on motorbikes, but this time in the city. Let me tell you, being on the back of a motorbike in a Vietnamese city is not for the faint of heart. Bikes and cars are constantly appearing out of nowhere and are often on a collision course with you until the very last second. The stream of vehicles never stops — not for pedestrians, not for other vehicles, sometimes not even for an ambulance. A perk of the food tour was that our three drivers were young university students who knew a good bit of English, so we could finally ask questions about their lives and experiences as well as Vietnamese culture. The other highlight was the food. I had the guides help me make a list of all the foods we tried:

Bun bo hue - spicy noodles soup

Banh xeo - Vietnamese pancake/crepe eaten in lettuce wraps with shrimp, bean sprouts, and a variety of leaves including basil and mint. It is dipped in a sweat sauce. (This was a personal favorite)

Dim sum

Banh mi - Vietnamese sandwich

Banh trang nuong - Vietnamese pizza

Bo lui xa - grill beef and lemongrass

Kumquat & sugarcane iced tea (personal favorite)

Coffee Banh flan - flan cake (personal favorite)

^ Banh Xeo - A very yummy dish which requires skilled rolling to produce.

^ Banh flan - literally the best flan I’ve ever had over a bed of crushed ice and coffee.

It goes without saying that we left that food tour with happy stomachs and a strong desire for a nap. Later that day we did some shopping! It turns out that Vietnam has endless stalls of knock-off (but very high quality) backpacks, bags, clothing, and so much more. We were particularly eager to buy backpacks and fanny packs which were significantly cheaper than normal prices. As crazy as it may sound, over those two days in Ho Chi Minh, the three of us bought 13 bags/backpacks for us and our friends/family in addition to other clothing, coats, and souvenirs. To this day I will never know how I managed to bring everything I bought back to Sydney in addition to my already full backpack and one-weeks-worth of clothes. I do always love a packing challenge!

With one day left in Ho Chi Minh, we had to take a tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels not too far away. These tunnels were the site of many battles between American forces and the Vietcong during the Vietnam war. In addition to getting to see several traps used by the Vietcong and learning about how the Vietcong formed (and survived in) the tunnel system, we got to walk 100m in the tunnels ourselves! Walking so far crouched over in a tunnel with a height of 1.5 meters was not easy, so you can imagine our shock when we got out and learned that the tunnel we went through was made 1.5x larger than the actual tunnels used in order to accommodate tourists.

^ examples of traps used in the Vietnam War

^ A cross-section view of the underground tunnels used by the Vietcong. Traps were set at the entrances and throughout the tunnels in case intruders found their way in. The kitchen was strategically designed so that smoke from a fire would leave through incremental holes making it less visible near the ground. To prevent wild dogs from approaching the smoke and revealing its position, spices were mixed with water and poured around the smoke’s backdoor to scare them away. The tunnels were only built at night as well so as not to draw attention, and all entrances were covered with leaves to blend into the environment.

Between the nature, people, culture, food, and shopping, Vietnam was hands down one of the best trips I had the chance to go on and I can’t wait to return one day. Cheers!

David Bayer

Biomedical Engineering

University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia

[941injapan]

June 9th- Shinkansen to Kyoto

Here we go, round 2. Today our class is traveling to Kyoto via the bullet train, or the Shinkansen as they call it in Japan. Have you ever seen the movie bullet train? It's pretty good, give it a watch. I started my morning by beginning to pack up the last of my belongings. I had some stray clothes and items lying around that I had to stuff into my duffel, but somehow it all fits. We get to the station after an uncomfortable train ride, as it was packed and I had a backpack that took up the space of a whole other person. Looked around the station a bit and finally boarded the bullet train. Plenty of room and i finally got the window seat. I've been snuffed out of window seats all the time this trip, so I'm glad I got my win where it counts. The train ride over was fast and pretty. I got to see parts of the countryside, rice farms, Nagoya, and all sorts of towns. I will note that it was not a clear day, so Japan looked a little bleak and sad, and industrial. We arrived and some goofy goobers didn't get off the train. Man, I'm getting tired of traveling in such a big group. People are loud, taking up the road, crossing the crosswalk while it's red obliviously, and getting lost and late for everything. All this money and time to get here just to wait around for some people who act like it's a Miami vacation. I feel bad for our tour guide. She's so nice and sweet and these University of Florida goons are making her work to the bone over the dumbest things. My restaurant, leisure, and overall experience have been fantastic when I move alone or with my roommate, so the problem is quite obvious. Anyway, we get to our stay and it's nice. The view from the balcony is great and I like the freedom these door keys offer over our other stay that had 1 key at the front desk. I decided to explore after a little nap and ended up back at Ippudo Ramen. It was completely on accident, but I won't complain, as it's the best bowl I've had here in Japan so far, even though the one I had in Tokyo was better because I had company. I then went and browsed around Kyoto station, and played the Initial D arcade game with some Japanese schoolkid. He was a pretty good racer and I had fun.

The readings really spoke to me about how brilliant the Shinkansen really was and how it untied Japan in a way like never before. Distances that were once seen as too large were now accessible without the need to build an airport. The train goes something like 200mph which is crazy fast for passenger rail. Now you have Japanese people accessing different parts of Japan in larger numbers, bolstering the economy, jobs, and overall growth of the country. The bullet train wasn't just a wonder in engineering, but a miracle for the country.

I hope you'll forgive me, because my GoPro was in my bag on the train so I couldn't get some pictures on the train.

Here is Kyoto instead

[mirrorforevers]

here, there, and everywhere • graham coxon/reader

this fic is based on two prompts y'all sent me:

and

this fic really tested all of my blur knowledge holy Fuck. blur as talking heads au i guess. how cool would it be if they

1. had a girl bassist instead of the cheese tory dude

2. werent as unhappy as they were in the mid 90s (just a bit)

3. were just a little 🤏🏻 bit more female friendly lets just pretend this is a universe where the blurjob passes didnt exist heh

it took me everything i had to make this sound as realistic as it could be. u know these girls who think they could fix patrick bateman or don draper? perhaps y’all could fix blur

consider this a gift n not only me writing for your prompt, @nottuned! thank u so much for all your support n encouragement n for always bein so sweet 🥺 i hope u enjoy reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it!

let’s see how many references to unfortunate britpop moments y’all can find in this

also i hope i captured the silliness of the gossip and drama in that era well. if you enjoyed it, please leave an ask telling me more! ur feedback is rly important to me 😔✊🏻

tw (?) reader has shitty parents

word count: 7.938 (this one's quite long!)

smut. set in the 90s. au.

You were unlocking your door when you heard your house phone ring. The shrill sound echoed through the empty corridors as you hurriedly unwrapped your scarf, tossing your keys and backpack on nearby furniture as you ran to answer the call.

“Hello?” You answer, panting.

“Y/N?”

“Dave?” You smile, that call was a very welcome surprise. Your friend owed you an answer.

-

A few weeks ago, Dave Rowntree, your music classmate who became a close friend, told you that he had teamed up with two other proficient musicians to form a band. Dave was ecstatic, and every day he had new stories about his new friends to tell you between breakfasts and lunches that you shared between the countless hours of rehearsals. Even though you weren't part of the group, you already felt that you knew Damon and Graham like the back of your hand. Yin and Yang. One was expansive, ambitious, vain, impulsive. The other, shy, introspective, anxious and careful.

Damon Albarn wanted to be an actor, Graham Coxon had a firm foot in the visual arts. One was a fan of grand classical compositions, the other was a Beatles fan. They had been friends since they were children, in a seemingly unbreakable bond. Damon dropped out of his theater class not only because out of a sudden he had found a bigger calling in music instead of acting, but also because he couldn't stand being away from his best friend for so long. You found yourself often imagining their faces and voices while trying to make all of the wild and endearingly funny stories Dave told you more tangible in your head.

It was not long before Dave started dropping little hints that they needed someone else for their project. “It’s not that Graham isn’t good at bass,” he’d say, “but we could do better.” It wasn't at the top of your plans to be part of a band right now, especially as you were preparing intensely to join the Royal Academy of Music, and he knew it. When you mentioned the conversations you had with Dave about the boys on your family dinner, in quiet wonder and timid want of being part of something really exciting, your parents wrinkled their noses. Focus on the greater things, they’d say. Don’t let these boys distract you from your goal.

Our goal, they meant to say. Since you were born, you never knew if the things you wanted were really your will or theirs.

But anyway.

That dynamic went on for a while, until the day Dave invited you to audition for them while you shared a Diet Coke in the tube home.

“Will it take too much of my time?” You asked, coyly.

“Bold of you to assume we’ll let you in that quickly.” He chuckles, amused by your confidence. You playfully elbow him in return. He knew how good you were at what you did, though, and there’s lightness in his tone when he continues, “But no, unless you let it. You’ll probably have to stand up to Damon every once in a while.” He sips the drink, handing it over to you.

“What about Graham? How much is he determined to make it big?”

“Damon’s the one who wants it the most. Graham’s studying Fine Arts at Goldsmiths, so. There’s still cautiousness in him.”

“Huh. Okay then.” You reply, thoughts running wild. “Do we have a time and date?”

“Is tomorrow ok to you?”

“Sure. After our class?”

“Perfect.” The train reaches his station. He ruffles your hair: “See you tomorrow then.”

“See you.”

You don’t tell anything about it to your parents, you just warn them that you’ll arrive a bit later than usual. Dave’s intel was crucial to your choice of songs: knowing Graham was the beatlemaniac and also the rational brake to Damon’s tireless ambition, you knew who to please and have as an ally, so you build an innovative and fresh mashup of Paul McCartney’s greatest basslines to play for them. Of course it could backfire, but you didn’t care. You had a hell of a good ear anyway and if Damon wanted you to play anything out of the blue, you would improvise beautifully over it.

The day comes. You didn’t know why you were that nervous for an amateur audition. You weren’t even sure if it was the right path to follow, given that, depending on how focused Damon really was and how contagious his aspiration was, being part of a band could really take you out of your predestinated course. The reason why you were so nervous, now thinking a little more about it, may be because deep inside, you want your path to be a little less predictable. You didn’t want to fill your heart with hopes that you might make it big and travel all over the world because you didn’t even know them. But… what if it clicks? You knew some people in the scene whose work was getting seriously recognized out there.

Meeting them for the first time was an enigmatic experience. Damon was incredibly brash and cocky - not the first theater kid you’ve met in your life. Graham was way more approachable, though also a bit conceited when pushed just right. You wondered if you’d fit in that boys’ club, and decided you wouldn’t be an easy target for discredit or any kind of shit they might give you. “Took me a while to fully get their trust. You’ll do just fine”, Dave said, out of their earshot.

That gave you more fuel to play amazingly well. Damon definitely wasn’t one to be impressed quickly, but he was, when you finished your set. So was Graham - Graham was starry eyed with your performance, actually. Albarn showed you a song and asked you if you could improvise to it, just as you imagined. Of course you could, on the first play. You even suggested some adjustments to its structure. Your feedback was welcomed and noted.

-

Even though everything went surprisingly well, you still weren't sure if you would be a member of “Seymour”, as they called themselves. (You knew it wasn’t the best name, but you didn’t have a better suggestion at the time so you’ve kept your opinion to yourself.) Graham became eerily quiet out of a sudden and wouldn’t cross eyes with you the entire time you were there. Damon, well, was Damon. Perhaps he thought you were too ordinary and mainstream for deciding to play Beatles when he’s trying to be the new avant-garde Jesus.

But Dave's news was different than you expected. “They really, really enjoyed your audition. As I thought they would.” You can hear the smile in his voice. "When can you rehearse with us?"

-

Months after, on your first gig as a fully formed and integrated band, Damon was hit in the face by a guy twice his size, Graham vomited onstage and you and Dave had to take care of both. A beautiful way to close the already exquisite day you had, after you fought with your parents, got kicked out of your childhood home and gave up on entering the Royal Academy of Music two days after you received your acceptance letter featuring rave reviews of your entrance exam.

Dealing with these boys - no, grown-ass men - was hard, but not completely unpleasant. If it were totally unpleasant, you wouldn’t give up on your entire life to embark on such an adventure.

You - plural you - were so gifted and Damon’s compositions were so good. You could see that artsy pretentious mess of an act going somewhere. Of course, you were a bit lost in your life, but so were they, as you ran from city to city meeting new people and trying new things in your journey to fame.

Loneliness, once a close friend, became a distant acquaintance. One you didn’t know anymore.

You confess you were getting worried, though, with how much money you had left on your savings and how much you were spending lately now that your parents weren’t an active part of your life. Wanting to eat something you cannot dream of buying without that money being really useful in a much more critical situation, not having nearly enough money to replace something important that broke or got torn off was frustrating. Some basic things became luxuries out of a sudden.

One day in particular, you very briefly mentioned that you were dying to eat a slice of chocolate cake, but your voice was so small and everyone was so immersed in their duties you thought no one gave two shits to what you said. Two days later, Graham arrived late at rehearsal with a small chocolate cake in his hands, handing it over to you like it was a completely ordinary act. Nothing in the way he acted told you he expected a reward, it was so natural and… gentle. You knew no one in your band could buy a chocolate cake without it being apocalyptic to their personal finances during that time.

That day, you were assured by fate that feeling lost together was better than feeling guided alone.

-

The band finally got on track - strictly musically speaking. Personally speaking, many contemporaries who followed you at parties and other events described you as an ever-growing odd, annoying and intermittently disarming bunch - and Blur and its members became household names, at least in the UK. It became harder and harder everyday to impose yourself as an entire industry and its target public aimed to tear you down. Men couldn’t understand.

(Graham Coxon was the one who tried the hardest to.)

It was four in the morning. You’ve got used to following your bandmates to hospitals, running away from trouble or knowing when to relish in it. But it was the first time you offered yourself to clean up dried blood from one’s face, given how much you hated seeing the fluid and even fainted when younger whenever exposed to it.

You, so delicately, wipe the saline solution-soaked cotton across Graham’s face, who flinches at the cold sensation on his still sensitive skin. He stares at you with the eyes of a child, and you couldn’t help but give him a slight, warm smile in return, which he retributes. Your face conveyed gratitude and affection towards the one you were taking care of. Your hands still struggled to stay completely still after the surge of adrenaline your body received a few hours ago.

Being the only girl in a massive band, and one the music magazines and mainstream media loved sexualizing, meant having paparazzis in your window in odd hours (not that that’s acceptable in any hour, but you had to lower your standards even more these days), meant having different photographers trying to pressure you to get into all kinds of uncomfortable angles with skimpy-ass dresses and just count on the intervention of your fellow bandmates so they would stop, also having invasive male fans who would try to harass you in any way they could.

Of course the day where one of your bandmates would get into a fist fight with one of these men inserted into these categories would come. And even though they were all protective of you, each in their own peculiar, increasingly contradictory way, Graham’s dedication to it was sometimes commendable.

You were making your way through a small corridor of people on your way to the stage when a random guy cupped one of your breasts. It’s not like the venue was incredibly tight, it could not have been on accident and it made your blood boil. You turned around to scream at him, and Graham, who was just behind you, threw a punch directly towards the man’s face, without thinking twice.

And oh boy, took a lot of people and a sweet amount of time to separate the two after that.

After all was said and done, Graham had a few scratches, a black eye and a cut brow. He kept dodging your many “sorrys”, “you didn’t have to do this” and other expressions of guilt. “You have nothing to be sorry about, he deserved it”, he kept assuring you, like a mantra, just giving in to your pleas when you supplicated to take care of his wounds during intermission and after the show.

“I get why you did what you did, Gra. I hate that you took such a risk because of me, but I understand.” you say, voice cracking from not using it for a while after spending some good minutes in complete silence taking care of him. “However,” you soak another cotton ball in the saline solution a roadie got you, punctuating the word with a squeeze to the cotton to remove excess liquid. “I was worried sick about you. What if he… had a knife or something? You could’ve got seriously injured. Or killed.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’m perfectly able to have a good fight,” after wincing from the contact of the cold wet cotton with his dried blood, he purses his lips in a forced, shy smile, trying to light up the mood. He notices your hands are still shaking from the adrenaline, and takes one of them in his bigger ones, trying to calm you down. The fact that he did this for you, coupled with the fear and how tired you felt of having to go through that kind of situation once again, made you cry-laugh from how overwhelmed you felt.

His expression changes to one of pure compassion in an instant. “Hey, don’t--oh my,” he gets up from his chair to embrace you as you pour your frustrations through fat tears running down his shoulder.

“It’s so exhausting,” you mumble, through sobs. “Now I’m putting you in danger too. I feel like I did and I’m still doing everything wrong. I should be the one giving you a shoulder to cry on.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong! Anything at all, I promise you,” he says, tenderly, running his hands through your hair, still holding you tight. “It was his fault! I decided it was the right thing to do. You’re worth the risk. What people have been putting you through is unacceptable.”

“I’m not worth the risk!” You break apart from his arms, trying to get your point across. “What would I do without you if someone killed you? You need to be more careful!”

The silence hangs heavy between you two thanks to the weight of your words.

“You should’ve asked me before you lunged at him, at least. I don’t know.” You wipe your many tears as you move towards the nearest bottle of water to try to calm yourself down. “It’ll never end. I’m so afraid that these situations will get even worse. That,” you motion at his wounds and dirty clothes, “is a bloody tragedy. It’s a tragedy things escalated to this point. You can’t do that forever.”

“This is just a consequence. And something I would do for you in a heartbeat whenever necessary.”

“Graham, I don’t want you to get hurt because--”

“They hurt you. I won’t let you go through that alone. Besides,” he comes closer to you again. “As I already told you, I can take care of myself, most of the time.” He takes your face in his hands, his fingers so delicately running across your cheeks to dry your tears. You knew that gesture wasn’t his way of asking you for anything you weren’t ready to give him yet. He just wanted you to feel safe. “And I want to take care of you.”

“I’m the one cleaning your wounds.”

“A great partnership, I think.” Coxon chuckles softly, and finally gets a smile out of you. As he always does. “And they make me look cool, don’t you think?”

“Shut up.” You giggle, still feeling too emotional to return to the stage. You sigh: “Thank you for being there for me. You know I’m still not very used to it. Just please be safe.”

The roadie returns, a little flustered by interrupting your little moment together. “5 minutes and you’re back, guys.”

“Okay!” You both turn to answer her.

“I’ll be. No need to thank me for anything, Y/N.” He answers, giving your forehead a little kiss. “Let’s go.”

“Give me two minutes. I’ll be right behind you.”

-

“What’s it like, being the only woman in the band?”

Four eyerolls at once don’t seem to faze the interviewer. She waits for your response.

Apparently the thousand invasive questions regarding Damon’s love life and the same bullshit treatment of women as either rare specimen or sex dolls is what pleases the audience of music TV shows these days.

“What do you think?” is what you say.

“Must be a thrill to have these beautiful boys around you all the time. And we’ve heard you never even took advantage of it!”

You don’t like where this is heading. “Is that… a bad thing? I don’t know what you mean.”

“Perhaps some of our lady viewers might think it is. No judgement though!” She raises her hands. “You do you, it’s just that it’s quite unexpected to see prudes in non-Christian bands. I mean… from what we’ve heard.”

“I’m sorry? What are you trying to say? What did you hear?”

Her tongue clicks while she stares at you with defiance and mischief on her eyes, as she goes a little further and raises her voice so it can overlay yours. “Oh love. You do know what I’m talking about. There’s no need to be ashamed of being a virgin.”

Your cheek burns intensely and the only thing you wished for was for the ground to swallow you whole. Dave and Graham are especially uncomfortable. Damon’s a bit amused. The three knew almost everything there was to know about you. The one topic that surprisingly they didn’t know about is that you’re still a virgin.

They know you’ve been single for a long time. They know that’s part of what draws so much attention and twisted lore regarding you and your past, but that’s not something they felt they needed to know about you at all, and you truly never felt the need to comment about that with any of them, and they haven’t asked. Not even Mr. “the way to be successful in this game is to make all the boys wanna be you and all the girls wanna sleep with you. In your case that’d work in reverse” Damon Albarn.

“Is that even something that should be discussed in an interview about our music? Is that what your boss told you to ask her about?” Dave answers, his tone venomous.

“Musicians are way more than just music. You’re entertainment in every sense of the word.”

“Who told you that about me?” You asked, not sure if you want to know the answer.

“A lovely elderly lady who lives in Elgin Crescent. She knows you so well.”

That’s your mum. That’s how far low your relationship has degraded. You’re not surprised. That doesn’t feel less like a punch on your gut, but you don’t feel like tumbling again. Not today.

“I know who you’re talking about. Tell her I asked her to go fuck herself and burn in hell. In that order.”

“But that’s your--”

“Yes, she is my mum!” If people are going to expose you anyway, then why don’t you do it on your terms? “We’re truly entertainment in every sense of the word, aren’t we. Not everyone’s mum’s a cunt. Some of us aren’t that lucky.”

“You want to be the next Gallagher sister with the spicy remarks?”

“Not sure. But I do want to be the last person you ever get to interview.”

-

The management of the band wasn’t at all surprised your interview became UK’s topic of the week. People were heavily divided between family is family and we shouldn’t hate our relatives and blood isn’t everything, family can be shitty too. Your bandmates were proud of you. The management was angry but tried to understand, and didn’t press you for further explanations. They suggested a two-week break from everything so Blur could rest their image and start a fresh cycle after that, and you gracefully accepted it.

The whole thing seemed so ridiculous the more you thought about it. Did your mum tell the reporter about that gratuitously? What was their conversation like? How did that even happen?

You became the butt of jokes in some places. You saw other famous people doing challenges between them, countdowns, all sorts of crude remarks. What a pathetic, sad chapter of your career.

You dial Graham, and you feel like your heart was about to burst out of your chest.

“Hey, Gra. It’s me.”

“Hey, Y/N.” He sounds pleasantly surprised. “How's it going?”

“Better, I guess. I have to take my mind off all that chaos though. Are you available right now?”

“Yeah.”

“You’ve been owing me a movie night for quite a while now and I miss spending time with you. Wanna come over?”

“Aww. Sure, I--um. Do you want me to bring anything?”

“I’m pretty sure I got everything we need here--ah… I think I don’t have any more beers.”

“I’ll buy some then. See ya in a few minutes.”

Actually, you couldn’t take all that chaos off your mind because that was the only thing in it. You’re feeling so nervous.

The main reasons sex wasn’t a priority for you until now were:

You didn’t have any real opportunities of losing your virginity in your teens. You were impossibly introspective until, like, 3, 4 years ago, and the way your family worked hasn’t really allowed you to get really close to people. Be it boyfriends, girlfriends or just friends. Anything that threatened to take time off the various tasks and classes your parents assigned to you just couldn’t be part of your life. To be honest, you still struggled a bit to form meaningful connections with people thanks to how you grew up.

The moment you stopped being shy, you noticed it was a real man’s world out there, especially in music, classical or not. You didn’t want anyone to think you fucked your way up to the top, you didn’t want any messy affairs. Also, you had yourself, and you didn’t get all of the hype regarding the concept of screwing someone. But apparently there’s a lot you’ve been missing, given the importance people seem to give to it. After that incident, even though you swore to yourself you wouldn’t give in to any kind of misogynistic pressure, that was one that really got under your skin.

You never really found someone who you felt 100% safe with in that sense until the one who’s about to arrive at your house appeared in your life. Bloody hell, and you don’t even have anything romantic going on. By the time you were a Blur member, you’ve fooled around a bit, but not all the way. You knew how to kiss, knew how to touch yourself and even brought manual satisfaction to some random fool you thought you were into one time. But perhaps this is the time to go all the way. Why not? Everyone knew how close you two were. He made you feel special. He was so kind. And gorgeous. And--

You hear a knock on your door. It’s him. Beers in hand, hair somewhat in place, twitchy as ever.

He comes inside and you feel like your legs will give up anytime. It was not the first time he visited you. It was one of many, actually, and he noticed you were acting… different.

“Y/N, are you okay?” He asks after a brief dialogue between you two, after plating some snacks for both of you.

“Graham...” You sigh, being really careful with your words. “What is your perception of me?”

“My perception of you?” He smiles. “I… think you’re great. You’re fun to be around. You’re one of the best musicians I know, if not the best. Why are you asking me that?”

“N-nothing. It’s nothing. Also, I asked the wrong question. What was your first perception of me?”

“Uh… the day of your audition?”

“Exactly. You barely talked to me that day.”

His eyes lower to his own feet. “I was really timid, actually. I wasn’t used to being near any girl, especially one who… w-would spend so much time around me if everything went well.”

You giggle. “I thought you hated me.”

“Never!” his smile turns into a full blown laughter. You melt at his confession. “Also because it seemed like you were trying to read my mind or something.”

“Of course! Because I thought you hated me!” Now that was a laughter you two shared. You do a voice: “‘Why is that pesky girl trying to get in my band?’”

“My goodness, no! I don’t even sound like that - you know what, I changed my mind. You suck. Because, besides the fact you don’t even know what I sound like, you still haven’t told me why you are asking me that in the first place.”

You couldn’t help but notice how he slightly cornered you physically in one of the kitchen corridors. Graham could be really persuasive when he wanted to.

“Okay. Right. Um. I’ve been thinking about some stuff.”

“What, exactly?”

“Everything that happened this month. The great virginity debacle,” you roll your eyes, and he scoffs.

“You don’t own anyone any information about what you do or don't do with your life. Everyone’s being so invasive. That was incredibly childish of the reporter to do, and we talked about that hundreds of times.”

“Yeah, but… you know what, forget it.”

“Tell me, Y/N. I just said that because I want you to know you were not in the wrong.”

“I know. It’s just… I’ve been thinking that maybe it’s silly for me to… keep closing myself for affection. Any kind of affection.”

“What are you talking about?” His brows furrowed in curiosity.

“I’m not sure if it’s the pressure that finally got under my skin, but… I’m willing to learn what all the fuss is about. Maybe it’s silly that I’m still a virgin.”

He bites his lips, still processing what you just said, expression unreadable. Perhaps you’ve treaded a ground you shouldn’t. You step back both literally and figuratively. “I’m sorry I even brought that up--”

“No, no, don’t be.” He assures you. “I’m just… surprised, that’s all. I swear.”

“And...” You know what. You already went too far, so why not go all the way. You’ve already gone way past the point of no return. “I was wondering if… you would… popmycherry?”

His eyes widen, yours still closed. When you finally open them, he’s closer to you again.

If his head was a machine, you’re sure it would be releasing lots of steam and shaking due to overprocessing. You felt like you just ruined everything.

“Y/N, you don’t need to do it if you don’t really want to.”

“But I want it! At first I thought I didn’t, but then I thought...”

“I don’t want to be part of that if you’re just doing it to fulfill weird expectations.”

“But it’s not that. Not just... that. I asked about your perception of me because I really like you, Gra. I think we should be more than friends and I wanted to know what you think about me. And I want to know what the fuss is about, yes, but I’m not telling you that just so I can lose my virginity to prove some point. I’m telling you that because I like you, I want to kiss you, and I think it would be a great idea if you showed me what it’s like. Y-you know, sex.”

“I-I can’t believe it. Did you even have any movie in mind?” His smile’s back, but you’re still not confident about what his answer will be.

“I didn’t. I’m sorry. You don’t have to--”

He sighs. “I was in love with you the moment I first saw you, actually.” He says it like he’s releasing a huge load out of his back, his arms crossed. Now your eyes widen, and you hold your breath without even noticing. “I didn’t want you to feel pressured. I know how you feel, or, felt about relationships, so… there wasn’t any reason for me to tell you that. And what I said about being timid was just half of the truth.”

“Huh?”

“I also was really intimidated by how pretty you looked. You can’t imagine how.”

“No way.”

“It’s true. I felt like I wasn’t even worthy of looking at you, really.”

“You’re joking. That’s mean, Gra.”

“I’m not. I’m really not.” He doesn’t look like he is joking. He looks relieved. “I’m really not. That’s why I’m so surprised by your request.”

“I’m nothing special.”

“You are everything to me. But I can’t accept your offer, not now.”

“Are you… seeing someone? Am I too late?”

“No. Definitely not. I just want you to be sure you’re not doing it because people are saying you should.”

“Graham, I’m a grown woman.”

“I know.”

Graham carefully presses his slightly chapped lips to yours, kissing you for a few precious, heart stopping seconds before pulling away; his voice is impossibly silky when he suggests, “Let’s watch a movie. How about The Godfather? I heard it’s airing tonight. Then, if in two weeks you don’t change your mind, tell me and I’ll be glad to help you with what you want. Do we have a deal?”

“That’s so unfair. I want you so bad.” You whisper.

“Tell me if you still do in two weeks.”

You sigh, defeated. “...Deal.”

-

You definitely notice the subtle shift in Graham’s personality and actions after that fateful night. If you were already close, both figuratively and literally, it now seemed like he would use any excuse to always touch you, be near you, sometimes tease you. The shift was subtle, though, don’t forget it’s still Graham Coxon we’re talking about - the constant “is it okay if”s or “is it alright if I”s were still there, as careful as ever. You don’t even talk about your deal that entire time, or even kiss again - sometimes you wondered if it was even real or just a fabrication of your mind.

The way he now caressed your hand discreetly when you listened to Damon’s ramblings, the way his hands now went directly to your waist when your games became too handsy, the way he seemed to be madly in love with everything you were and still are from the start - made you realize you were ready for this man to be a consistent part of your life.

The dust of the controversy was settled, and your own intentions were 100% clear to you now. The societal pressure has waned. The need for Graham to be your first persisted. After exactly 2 weeks have passed, you call him again, yearning to share the answer with him.

One beep.

Two beeps.

Three beeps.

Four beeps. “Hello?”

You release a sigh hidden deep inside of your lungs. “Graham, it’s Y/N.”

“Oh. It’s been two weeks.” You could hear the contemplative tone of his voice.

“...Yeah. That’s precisely the reason I’m calling you.”

“Do you still want to…?”

“...Desperately.”

“Ok.” He chuckles, flustered as hell on the other side of the phone, probably one of the prettiest sounds you’ve ever heard. “Right. Ok. Your place or mine?”

“I think there’ll be an element of mystery if I go to your place this time.” You lose some of the constraints this silly shyness has been tying you on. “Do you have everything we might need there?”

“We don’t need a dungeon, you know.”

“The basics.” You make your smile heard.

“I do have… I do have the basics.”

“See you in a few minutes then.”

“Will you want to… ease into it? Or just go straight to it?”

“God, don’t make it awkward!” Your cheeks burn, your smile turning into contagious laughter. “Maybe… I don’t know. Ease into it, I guess? A movie night… but with s-something else?”

“Okay. Sounds good.”

“Alright then. See you.”

“See you.”

-

You don’t choose any particularly fancy or sexy clothes, instead settling for a slightly oversized yellow striped shirt he gave you as a birthday present some months ago and some skirt that fit you well. He wasn’t one to lavish his loved ones with gifts all the time, but few things were as precious as the look on his face whenever he saw you wearing something he gave you or, hell, even eating something he paid for you. You’re thrilled to see it again when he opens the door for you, it easing some of your deepest doubts.

2001: A Space Odyssey is already playing on the TV when you arrive. Despite it being one of your favorite movies of all time, and his, you’re not mad it was already halfway through when you arrived. It wasn’t your main priority to rewatch it for the 17th time tonight.

He offers you some wine, which you accept to ease the nerves. You sit on his couch, and he shares the cozy space with you, now mindlessly throwing one of his arms around your shoulders. You cuddle up to him, and everything seems peaceful in the world for a while.

The tip of his fingers softly caress your lifted knee, absentmindedly. You couldn’t help but notice how well his body fits with yours, how your skin was apparently made for him to touch, and the anxiety rumbles in your stomach like a storm in a wild wavy sea. After some minutes, you raise your head, his big brown eyes meeting yours as if asking you a silent question. You leaned up a bit more to press your lips to his, in a silent answer. The sweetness in him makes this moment as precious as every other moment you ever shared with him. His hands enter your hair, making you shiver a bit from the unfamiliarity and the electricity of it all - but it doesn’t sway you from deepening the kiss, wanting more of his taste, more of this, more of him.

“Do you wanna take this to the bed?” He whispers, after noticing your moans were becoming more frequent and needy. You nod, and you are taken by surprise when he carries you bridal style to it, hiding your excited giggles in his broad shoulders.

Graham wasn’t exactly the most organized man in the world - so the fact that his bedroom was now impossibly tidy was something that positively caught your attention. He put some planning into this. He lays you down and you part your legs, beckoning him to meet you between them. He does, and you go back to the breathtaking makeout session. You notice he’s holding himself back a bit, taking his time, his warm tongue moving smoothly, not hurriedly, against yours. His self control falters a bit though, given how he can’t stop grinding against you. You follow the rhythm of his hips a bit timidly and not nearly as in sync as you’d really like, though the pressure his covered cock is creating against your core can already be felt and some particular thrusts are able to fill at least partially the aching, wet need growing within you.

“How do you feel about oral?” He asks, breath warm near your ear, his voice raspy and spent by his desire for you.

“Um… It would be my first time receiving or doing it.”

“Would you like me to go down on you?”

“Wow. I never thought I would hear you saying something like that.” You smile, still assimilating the situation you’re in, trying not to show how badly his voice is affecting you. “Sure.”

“I never thought I would get to propose this to you. Aren’t we full of surprises lately.” He smiles back, warmly. He notices your hands trembling a bit from how anxious you are while you’re taking off your underwear with his help, and as he lowers himself to where you need him most, he takes your hands in his as an act of reassurance. “Tell me what you like. Tell me if what I’m doing works for you. I want this to be a great experience.”

“You want me to get addicted to you, that’s what you want,” He chuckles, lovingly kissing your thigh as a reply. “Okay, Gra. Guess I’ll find out along the way.”

You quickly take a peak below you to see the lower half of his face disappear in the middle of your thighs. The sight alone sets your fire ablaze, as he hooks his arms around your thighs and lifts you closer to his mouth, his lips ghosting over the curls between your legs tantalizingly and his breath catching when your hips jerk forward.

As he begins his ministrations, you immediately notice it’s unlike anything you’ve ever felt. That feeling was completely alien to you. It was even wetter than you expected, and weird, but powerfully pleasant. Before this exact moment, you had a firm belief that hardly anyone else would make you feel the same way, or better, than you do yourself, but apparently you were very wrong. Thankfully you were wrong. “My god,” you gasp as the flat of his tongue drags over your folds, too much and not enough, and you jerk at the contact. “This is great. So weird, but-- great.”

He moans at your response, his movements carefully enthusiastic. He works his tongue between your folds and traces up to curl the tip of it around your clit, and it’s quite endearing and madly arousing to see how he eats out you like you’re the sweetest and tastier dessert he has ever tasted. You involuntarily buck against him with a desperate sound the moment he moves his tongue and lips in a particularly wicked way, something that definitely doesn’t go unnoticed by him, but you still feel the need to highlight in case it didn’t - “That. Keep doing that, please,”

And he does. The building of this climax is also different than the ones you already had by your own hands, and is more coy. As he sees the drops of sweat sliding along your soft skin and the expressions on your face as you get lost in this new but enchanting sensations, his hesitation and self-control fades away; there’s nothing uncertain in the way he buries his face in your cunt now, nothing restrained in the groan he lets out as he devours you and drinks you down as if you’re the first stream of water he has seen in days.

His tongue glides deeper in your folds again and again, swirling up through the wetness you’re coated with to tease at your clit while he grunts and strains closer, squeezing your thighs with both hands tight. The wave of heat inside of you is cresting so fast, you don't even know how to tell him, how to signal that you’re nearly done for and, in the end, it happens too fast to even try. He sucks at your clit, circling it with his tongue, once, twice, and then you’re crying out, shaking underneath him, trying to keep your thighs from clenching too hard around his head as he laps you through it with with urgent whimpers and moans, as if he cannot have enough of you.

You’re still trembling when he rises, the look on his face revealing to you how proud he feels by making you feel this way. It looks so good on him.

You fail miserably at the simple task of connecting words together after that, choosing instead to collect your remaining strength, prop yourself up and beckon him again to keep kissing him and learn, through his talented tongue, how you taste. He kisses the thin fabric of the shirt at your chest that covers you from view, your throat, your jaw, and before he reaches your impatient lips, he notes, sinfully, “Seems like you enjoyed yourself, love.”

“That was… unbelievable. Stars, I want to make you feel good too. Please show me how.”

“Keep kissing me,” he begs, voice still strained from how aroused he is. “I want to be inside you so bad. Let’s get you prepared.” You’re still so sensitive, you tread on overstimulation when his fingers lightly touch your clit, making you break the kiss in a hiss. He traces a line on your folds, inspecting the impact his mouth had on you. “So wet for me.”

“Bit slower, Gra,” He complies to your breathy plea, his fingers now more tame as he slowly spreads your wetness throughout your pussy. He stretches towards the nightstand to grab a bottle of lube, interrupting his contact to spread some on his fingers before unhurriedly slipping his middle finger inside of you. The coldness of the gel makes you shiver in surprise, the easiness brought by it very welcomed. Again - the sensation is odd. Completely unfamiliar. The feeling of having something inside of you for the first time, going further than you ever dared to try, probing, exploring; the coldness of the lube clashing against your burning hot cunt. But it also felt nice. The focused look on his face was adorable, he looked like he was a scientist in the middle of very complex research.

Despite the panting, the messy hair and the fire in his eyes.

Your body already has a lot of new sensations to process simultaneously, so when he asks you to take off your bra and shirt so his tongue can work on your nipples - which you gladly accept, you feel like you’re on sensual overload. His tongue, again, so talented, takes your mind off the slight burning you feel when he introduces his ring finger to your soaked, throbbing core, his focused, carefully overpowering and constant stimulation driving you insane.

“Does it feel good?” He asks, voice muffled by your breast. You nod, carried by the wave of pleasure sweeping you.

“Yes. God, yes.” You pant, tangling your fingers tightly on his thick hair as an encouragement, a desperate sound escaping from your lips the moment he reaches a certain point within you you didn’t even know existed, hot mouth continuing to lick and suck your nipple. Even though you were spent by your last orgasm, he was indeed getting you addicted to those new feelings, and even though this was heavenly, truly heavenly, you needed more. “Gra, I’m ready, I think.”

“You sure?”

“Yes. Please.”

Releasing your nipple from his lips with a sounding pop, he eagerly frees himself from his trousers - hard as a brick - and puts protection and lubrication on, swiftly positioning himself between your thighs while stroking himself to the sight in front of him. You motion to take off your skirt, and he holds your hand, not letting you. “Don’t. It’ll be really hot to fuck you in this.” He confesses, giving your forehead a kiss in a very different context than before. He aligns his forehead with yours, each of your lips just barely touching while you breathe each other’s air. He looks deep into your eyes, slowly running the tip of his cock between the slick folds of your pussy, coating himself in the remnants of your pleasure. “Do you trust me?”

You trust me to know your limits? Not to go any further if you don’t really want me to?

“Absolutely.”

The only response you get from him is a shuddering, helpless moan into your mouth and you hold him tighter to you, grinding your still sensitive cunt up against his cock while he pulls hard at the soft fur next to your head. You feel your soaking pussy lips part around the solid curve of his length and gradually coat the underside of him in slick with every gentle circle and roll your hips make, as he finally pulls away from your mouth to drop his forehead to your neck. He then, very slowly, penetrates you, stopping when he hears the noises you make indicating you’re struggling to adjust to his presence. Out of everything you’ve felt in the last minutes, this was by far the most painful sensation. “This-- is new,” you note, your face completely incapable of hiding the discomfort. He also notices that.

“Are you okay? Do you want me to stop?”

“It’s okay. I’ll get used to it.”

“It’s not supposed to be about endurance, you know.” He says, a bit breathless and worried, caressing your hair. “Tell me when it’s okay to move. Or if you feel too much pain.”

After some long seconds and some deep breaths, you say: “Okay. Go on.”

“As you wish.”

He moves inside you at a very slow pace, the lubrication clearly making it easier for you to handle it. It still hurts, significantly, but the sensation of being filled is also surprisingly arousing.

His hand moves to your sensitive clit again in small, measured circles, your little moans being a mixture of the pain of penetration and the sheer ecstasy of seeing him falling apart because of you. The way his chest heaves while the drops of sweat start pearling his fair skin, the furrowed brows and broken groans, the thickness of him as he rests heavy up against your entrance, the way his voice presses deliciously tight in his throat as he gasps out into the quiet room - everything’s making your chest burst in love and satisfaction. You tighten your grip around him and roll your hips up into his cock, letting it break you open nice and slow; it stretches you wide with a deliciously sharp fullness and pleasure rips through you, and Graham becomes even more vocal as he picks up a steady and gradually faster pace. He turned all of your keys, it’s about time you turn some of his.

“Graham, deeper,” you whimper, continuing to tighten your legs and hoist yourself up, lifting your hips to take his cock deeper inside you. His name rips itself from your throat while Coxon clenches his jaw and starts to lose himself in the pleasure, holding you down into the bed while he allows your desperation to guide him to the perfect angle and speed to sate you. He found denying you to be impossible.

He snarls and curses as he holds you down and rails you, determined to make you sing again before he finishes, and to his delight, your heightened sensitivity gives him what he wants. And this time, he couldn't hold on.

Graham kisses you one last time as he groans and gives in, head dropping to your neck again. You didn’t reach a second climax, but stars, what an experience you just had.

When he comes back to himself enough to realise he still had you practically folded in half, he carefully pulls his softening cock free, taking the condom off and taking the strands of hair out of your face as you struggle to catch your breath. You suggest a shared bath, a suggestion he gladly accepts.

Too tired and too sore for pillow talk, comfortable silence falls as your hand finds his, and you lay, listening to each other’s breathing slowly settle.

I could get used to his little snore on my chest, is the last thought that twinkles on your mind before you fall asleep snuggled with him.

[smash-chu]

Updated the iceberg with some suggestions + more stuff i came across during research~ Might be doing a video to go along with it, cause it'd be fun (i have been capturing footage, so it'll likely end up happening :3 )

Explanations for each thing can be found below:

-Level 1-

The TV show - Some people’s first exposure to the franchise was the TV show, made to go alongside the games as a sort of advertisement. It was made by 4Kids and had a total of 2 seasons, starring the 4 main characters: Hudson Horstachio, Franklin Fizzlybear, Paulie Pretztail and Fergy Fudgehog.

Rare games easter eggs - There are plenty of easter eggs to other Rare games throughout Viva Piñata, the easiest ones to note are the broken arcade cabinets found in the first game as well as the various nods to Banjo Kazooie - such as the Bird and Bear statue, Mumbo statue, Breegull backpack and Bottle’s Glasses.

Stardos is Dastardos - The game never tells you this directly, but it’s an easy and obvious conclusion to make.

Twingersnaps and Fourheads - Without using a guide or looking it up you may actually be baffled on how to acquire these piñatas in game. There is no obvious hint in game to tell you to hit the Syrupent egg before it hatches on the third bounce, which means you either have to figure it out through experimentation or by looking it up.

Leafos False Rumors - Leafos is meant to give you good advice to help you out while you play the game if you talk to her, however not all information she gives is true. Some rumors include putting a Badgesicle in water will turn it into a Sweetooth, feeding a Doenut to a Pretztail turns it into a Mallowolf and so on. None of these actually work.

Piñatas aren’t permanently broken - When a piñata is broken it is magically repaired, at least when on Piñata island, reforming at the edge of a garden when broken at one. It is stated that piñatas are repaired after having been sent to parties, which would potentially mean that piñatas only magically repair themselves when on the island.

-Level 2-

The PC Port - Not very well advertised, there was a PC port released for the first Viva Piñata game. There are a couple of differences between the port and the original Xbox 360 release, which are touched upon later.

Piñatas are genderless - Technically no piñata is given a gender in game, all piñatas function the same. While in the show gendered piñatas are present it could potentially be that piñatas are naturally genderless and then if they are sapient can choose genders which fit their identity.

Burger king toys - A bundle of burger king exclusive plastic toys of piñatas were made and sold alongside the children's meals, some of the piñatas were Elephanilla, Sparrowmint, Goobaa and so forth. These toys are nowadays rare and sought after by people who collect the very small amount of official Viva Piñata merch that exists.

Wildcards - Wildcard piñatas are unique piñatas that have a feature which makes it stand out next to others of its species. There are a total of 3 variants of wildcards per piñata, some being exclusively gained through trading piñatas online. In the original game wildcards were extremely rare and there was only one variant, while they were made easier to acquire in TiP.

Both the games and show are canon - Just what it says, according to the creators both the games and show are canon to Viva Piñata lore. This makes for some strange implications, but that's for later.

TiP Fence Glitch / Exploit - A sort of well known glitch often used while playing Viva Piñata Trouble in Paradise. Fences normally do not stop Ruffians and Professor Pester from entering your garden, as they simply destroy them when they’re in the way. However, if arranged in a specific pattern in the area next to the volcano they enter from, the fence will make them permanently stuck. They will be stopped at the very edge of the garden at the fence, unable to properly enter or do anything. This can occur unintentionally as well in both the original game and TiP, as sometimes Ruffians and Professor Pester get stuck on seemingly random things and become unable to do anything.

Domesticated piñatas becoming un-domesticated - A strange difference between the original game and TiP is the fact that you can no longer buy domesticated piñatas from the Paper Pet’s store. Instead of being purchased they simply appear in the wild like any other wild piñata, whether this implies that these piñatas are no longer considered domesticated or is just a game design choice is unclear.

Jardinero and his family - In game a big part of the npc cast are Jardinero and his children, Leafos, Seedos, Storkos and Dastardos. They all play important roles in terms of the game mechanics, but also have their own stories which can be read about in the journal. The journal also mentions the character Mother, which is Jardineros wife and mother of their children. She is a seafaring adventurer that occasionally came to visit Piñata Island to see her husband and kids.

-Level 3-

Dastardos ghost theory - Because of Dastardos more ghostly abilities, such as floating around, being able to go through objects and not being recognized by his family, it is theorized he may either be undead or a ghost. The entry for the Dastardos shovelhead also implies this, calling him “untouchable” and only thanks to lining up to his frequency can the shovel hit him. This theory kind of makes the fact that Professor Pester being responsible for this even more messed up.

Extended / full version of Horstachio commercial - One of the more famous pieces of commercials to advertise the first game was the one featuring Hudson Horstachio, about to be broken by a couple of kids, that he offers a bunch of outlandish things to to convince them to let him down. There are apparently some different versions of the commercial which feature different things being offered, with a full uncut version that has all the offers in it.

Piñata cards - In Viva Piñata Trouble in Paradise there is a function which is called Piñata Vision, which utilizes the Xbox Live Vision camera. By scanning the card you can get the piñata or item displayed on the card, some of these cards feature the developers in the form of a piñata and characters from other games.

Language Dubs - The PC port of the original game has a lot of language dubs, translated into languages such as Dutch, Swedish, Spanish, Chinese and more. Some of these do not extend to the UI oddly enough, while for the majority of translations all of the game’s features are translated accordingly, with the exception of piñata names. The language chosen is determined by the language set for the computer, so if you want the game in a specific language you’d need to change the language of the computer before installing it.

PC port graphical downgrades - Oddly enough the PC port has some graphical differences compared to the original Xbox 360 release. Mostly the graphics being downgraded, even on the highest settings, such as the lighting and texture resolution on objects and the environment.

Miss Petula’s neglectful parents - The npc that runs the Paper Pet’s store is Miss Petula, who often lets the player know she’s not very enthusiastic about her job. Mostly because her parents have left the store in her care, and don’t seem to communicate with their daughter much aside from grounding her, as she mentions it in her dialogue. In one of her dialogue lines when the player leaves the shop she ponders running away from home.

Accessories graphical glitches - Some accessories have graphical glitches associated with them, such as missing pieces or being misaligned on the model during certain animations. Examples of this is the ribbon being missing when a Ponocky wears a tail ribbon (in the PC version), or goggles on Chippopotamus not moving properly when their mouth is opened.

Some piñatas are sapient, others not - Because of the fact that both the show and games are canon makes some things kind of weird. Though even if the show wasn’t canon this would still be a thing - as thanks to the existence of Langston and some of the show characters appearing in the DS game. Most piñatas in the games act like animals and cannot speak, however in the show and with Langston they are very much as sapient as a human. What causes a piñata of the same species to be sapient or not? Why does no character in the game acknowledge this strange difference? We don’t know.

Magic is real - In the Viva Piñata universe, at least on Piñata Island, magic exists. Seen in the form of Leafos and Jardinero summoning items, Bart transforming items into other things, Seedos and other characters teleporting and both Dastardos and Storkos being able to fly. There are other examples of magic, nobody really explains why magic exists or to what extent it is used or capable of being, but simply something that is commonplace on Piñata Island. If magic exists in other places is unknown.

The DS game - Known as Viva Piñata Pocket Paradise, the DS game came out after both the original game and TiP. It features a mix of piñatas from both the other games, however not all of them, because of the limitations of being on the DS. It is pretty much just another Viva Piñata game where you tend to a garden, now using the touchscreen to use your tools and so on.

How the fuck does the family not recognize Dastardos as Stardos - A strange phenomenon considering at least Jardinero considers Dastardos familiar and so does Leafos to an extent (he is in the "family members" part of the journal after all), but apparently none of the other family members have been able to figure out that Dastardos is in fact Stardos. Whether this is them just being very oblivious or not it’s still sad that they can’t even recognize their own family member after being corrupted. This is also even more strange considering Dastardos lives literally across the garden from his family, how have they not been able to tell by now? Though, if the ghost theory is considered, maybe it’s understandable why they have such a hard time recognizing him.

-Level 4-

Langston taking over the position of authority in piñata central from Jeffe - Apparently Jeffe used to be in charge of the piñata central and was later kicked off his position and replaced by Langston, this is to reflect how Jeffe was originally planned as the head of the piñata central before being replaced by Langston as influenced by the show. Why he was kicked off his position is uncertain, but theorized to be because of the fact that he turned into a piñata or half piñata from ingesting too much candy - though why this would influence him being kicked off i’m not sure. Maybe he abused the central for his own gain?

“They all wear masks, some are just more elaborate than others” - A statement from a developer when asked about the masks worn by the humanoid characters in the games, whether they’re their actual heads or some kinda mask. This was meant to clarify that all the human characters are fully human, however it still leaves some things unanswered - such as if they are masks then why can we not see Fannie Franker’s face inside the mailbox on her head? Or what does that entail for the Ruffians whose bodies are pretty much completely covered in their masks.

Squazzils name debate - A reference to how in game Leafos mentions that the name for the Squazzil was debated before you, the player, arrived at the island. Being apparently called Nonsquirrel as they were trying to figure out a name for the species. Whether this is true or not is uncertain, as Leafos does state untrue rumors sometimes.

The side characters in P-Factor - P-Factor is a minigame in TiP that is you showing off your piñata in a contest against other players or npcs. This minigame features both already existing npcs, such Leafos for example, as well as some made exclusively for the minigames. Some of these npcs include Maxime, Babochka, Nana Urf and more. They also make an appearance in the Great Piñata Paperchase minigame, however they are much more prominently presented in the P-Factor minigame.

Unknown blue flower - There is a blue flower which appears outside of the garden space as a decoration in the original game. This blue flower is not a flower which appears anywhere else, and cannot be planted in the garden either. Most of the flowers and trees found outside the garden space are plants that are available for the player, but this one flower is unique in that it isn’t part of those plants.

Leafos might be a lesbian - As it is very much implied that Leafos is the one who writes the entries for the items, objects, characters and piñatas in the journal one can glean interesting information and thoughts about Leafos. In the entry for the Pink Flutterscotch there is the sentence “A girl (that I may or may not have liked) once told me that the Pink Flutterscotch reminded her of a kiss.” Some people take this as an implication that Leafos may be a lesbian and or bi, which i personally think would be neat.

Viva Piñata Party Animals - A party game that stars the main cast of the tv show, it features a lot of different minigames and a mario kart-like racing minigame, kinda being a mix between mario party and mario kart except piñata themed. It’s very different from the other games in the series and has a lot of locations and items not featured in the other games as well.

Unused piñata concepts - There are plenty of piñatas that never made it into any of the games, as one would expect. Examples of piñatas that never appear in the game but had concepts made for them are a Giraffe, a Platypus that would’ve been acquired by breeding a Quackberry and Sweetooth together, a Hammerhead shark with a sour form and a Kangaroo. A goldfish piñata was also part of concepts, however this piñata does appear in the game - as the fish in the bowl on Miss Petulas head.

Ivor in the wishing well - In TiP Ivor Bargain is strangely missing, with the items he used to sell now being purchasable at Cost’o’lots. Ivor can however be found residing at the bottom of the wishing well object, which you can purchase after playing through the credits sequence. By donating chocolate coins you can get him to speak and throw items from the well depending on what amount you throw in. It is hinted that Lottie was the one who pushed Ivor into the well, likely because she doesn’t want competition selling items to the local gardeners.

-Level 5-

Banjo Kazooie Mountains - One of the rarer (hah) easter eggs to spot in the original game, in the distance across the swamp where Seedos lives one can see a mountain which has Banjo and Kazooie carved into the mountain. This is much easier to see in the Xbox 360 version compared to the PC port, because of the higher resolution textures.

Silent piñatas - Every piñata is voice acted, or are they? One might notice that there are two, well technically eleven, piñatas that are completely silent. The Flutterscotches and Mothdrops are fully silent, not making any noise. Why this is is uncertain, as other bug piñatas do have noises, such as the Taffly and Sweetle. It may be because normally no noise is associated with butterflies or moths in real life, or it may be because these piñatas are meant to be more akin to decorational than a “proper” piñata.

Dragonache flying away glitch - A glitch which is easily done in game, by making the dragonache engage in a fight with another piñata and using the menu to send it off from the garden. By opening the fighting view, which can be accessed to monitor the fight separate from the normal camera view, it will focus in on the two piñatas. The camera will become strange as the Dragonache flies away from the garden, letting you see out of bounds and see details otherwise obscured by things in the background around the garden. I recommend doing this after having done at least one mandatory fight beforehand, as you are forced to watch the first fight that occurs and will unable to do anything till it is finished. Thus if you do this glitch while forced to watch it you will be unable to access the rest of your garden for quite some time.

Giant Zumbug glitch - Not certain if a glitch or hack, there have been reports of a giant Zumbug in TiP which is acquired through unknown means. This giant Zumbug can be sent through the Xbox Live service, but more than that is not known.

Professor Pester is legit evil and fucked up - Even though he’s presented in the show as a bumbling idiot of a villain, he has done a lot of fucked up shit. Not only does he employ Ruffians to mess up other people’s gardens, including Jardinero’s garden, he is also the reason why sour piñatas exist. Making a sour goop which is used for creating sour candy, it is a candy which makes anyone who eats it sick and possibly corrupts them - this is evident in how he corrupted Stardos by giving him sour candy. He may have rather bland goals as a villain, simply wanting complete control of the piñata island and its piñatas, but he’s done some pretty messed up stuff to try and accomplish this goal.

Extra color variants - All piñatas, except for the Flutterscotches, have three color variants that can be acquired by feeding the piñata specific things. However, there are piñatas that have more variants than others, through being caught in the Pinartic or Dessert Desert, and then feeding those the same things. This will cause them to gain a different tint of color compared to their normal counterparts, as thanks to having a different default color because of being from a different region.

Money and Piñata duplication glitch - It is possible to duplicate money and piñatas by abusing the post office, by editing the contents of the boxes being mailed while they are shipped off. This can be used to quickly acquire master romance rewards and cut down on time spent making chocolate coins the normal way. This glitch appears to be the easiest to do in TiP, compared to the first game.

Giant and tiny seeds - You can gain a plethora of things from the mine, which includes seeds. Sometimes when the mine uncovers seeds there is a chance for the seed to either be bigger or smaller than normal, these seeds work exactly like their normal sized versions, but sell for different prices. The size difference can vary wildly, with really big seeds and incredibly tiny seeds that are hard to see.

Ivor has two mouths - Something that may be easily missed, but Ivor Bargain does as a matter of fact have two mouths. One for each “face” he has, for when he’s a beggar and a merchant, he can flip between the two by spinning his head, flipping his head up or down. This is a little freaky, and completely glanced over in game, left unexplained why he has two mouths or can flip his head upside down with no consequences.

Leafos is vegan - A very recent thing which has been observed through the rare cookbook that has been released, which features an array of rare game inspired recipes. Recipes which are vegan or vegan friendly are marked with “Leafos vegan approved”, which implies that Leafos is vegan.

Fudgehog cutscene - On certain days of the month a different cutscene will play during the opening of the first game on Xbox 360 and PC, replacing the normal Horstachio cutscene. Instead it is a Fudgehog being broken to reveal the rare logo, though there is a bug in the PC port that makes the Fudgehog cutscene not play.

Pudgeon romance dance - An oddity among the rest of the romance dances is the Pudgeon romance dance, which is the only piñata to actually wear the required accessories needed for romancing in the romance dance cutscene.

-Level 6-

Mousemallow sounds - The Mousemallow makes interesting noises, which may seem strange for a mouse, as they aren’t squeaks. They go “chu” because the developer voicing them is from Japan, where mice are vocalized as going “chu” instead of squeak.

Cut baby piñatas - Originally piñata babies were meant to look different from their adult counterparts, instead of just being smaller. However because of time constraints this was cut.

Humans can become piñatas rumor - In game this is presented in TiP with Jeffe, which is a human piñata or a half human half piñata, he states “If you eat enough candy and pull a face in the wind you'll become a piñata, I never want to see another piece of candy let alone a piñata full of it.” as part of dialogue during P-Factor. We cannot confirm whether this is actually true or not, but if Jeffe’s statement is true then it would imply that humans can turn into piñatas. This in turn creates a lot of questions, such as why does this happen? Has this happened to people outside of Piñata Island? Is this something exclusive to just the island or candy from the living piñatas? Can this happen with animals as well?

Tamed sour piñatas reverting via mail - A gameplay mechanic which is not commonly seen is the fact that tamed sour piñatas can revert back to a sour state. This occurs when you send a tamed sour piñata to a player which hasn’t unlocked the tamed version of that piñata, when the piñata is taken out of its mailed box it will be the sour version. This happens in all the main games, including Pocket Paradise as well.

Pitch black piñata variants - A once exclusive variant available through Piñata Vision cards, it turns a piñata completely black, even sour piñatas. This can be acquired without the use of cards through things like hacking or modifying the game’s files.

Piñata meat - Something mentioned in the journal and seen in the form of some piñatas attacking projectiles, eating piñatas in the form of eating their “meat” is apparently a normal thing on Piñata Island. Examples of this are the journal entries for Cluckles and Arocknids, which mention eating Cluckle legs, as well as the projectiles of Cluckles and Goobaa being chicken legs and mutton chops. It is also mentioned in in-game dialogue that Storkos eats piñata eggs if unable to deliver them, and other piñatas do consume piñata eggs. Are thus piñatas edible beyond just their candy? Or are the residents on Piñata Island cooking and eating paper mache animal parts and acting like that’s not weird?

Family mode - A mode found in the original game and TiP, which allows two people to play at the same time using two controllers. Simply done by connecting a second controller while playing the game, it’s originally meant for parents to be able to help their kids while they play without having to disturb the gameplay. This mode can be used to give yourself an edge in the early stages of the game in TiP, as the second controller will have the best tools available right away and is capable of things the first controller cannot, like filling a piñatas candiosity by performing tasks.

Dastardos and Seedos special interaction - When you’ve beaten up Seedos and gotten him on his bad side he’ll start to chuck weed seeds into your garden, and has a special interaction with Dastardos if both of them are in the garden while he is in his upset state. When Seedos has thrown a weed seed, the two of them will turn to face each other and do their laughing animation, presumably because both of them enjoy the chaos. Or maybe they have that slight family connection still? It’s rather sad though that Seedos only acknowledges his brother at all when he’s angry and upset.

-Level 7-

Viva Piñata Candy Stash - There are a few piñata games which aren’t widely known, for example this Adobe Flash tower defense game developed and published by 4Kids TV, known as Viva Piñata Candy Stash. This game features Professor Pester trying to steal the player’s candy using Ruffian robots, and to stop him the player builds towers invented by piñata characters from the tv show.

Petting piñatas - Exclusive to Pocket Paradise, you can pet your piñatas which makes them happy. Different piñatas like to be pet differently, and if petted the wrong way it won’t increase their happiness.

No 100% reward in first game - Both Viva Piñata Trouble in Paradise and Viva Piñata Pocket Paradise have a reward / reward screen for completing the game fully, by getting all the available rewards for the piñatas and plants. However, there is no proper completion reward in the original first game, there are rewards for various milestones but none for completing everything.

Piñata mascot suits - As part of promotions and promotional material there exists mascot suits of some piñatas, such as the Horstachio, Pretztail and Fudgehog. Whether these suits are kept in storage somewhere or have been thrown away we do not know.

Ruffians helping Helpers - Unless you mess with your helpers just for fun, you’re unlikely to ever see this happen. When a helper of any kind is stuck because of a fence or being surrounded by objects, they will constantly keep telling you they’re stuck. If you let them stay stuck for long enough a Ruffian will spawn in, no matter if you have a Captain’s Cutlass or not in your garden, that you cannot interact with. They will wander over to the helper and free them by destroying the object that’s in the way. Leafos will then berate you with a notification, saying “Shame on you!” for being such a jerk to your helper, and that the Ruffian and helper are running off; the helper leaving permanently.

Ruffians speaking - Ruffians normally do not speak, only making various grunts, but do have dialogue seen in Pocket Paradise.

-Honorable Mentions-

Miss Petula’s cat eyes - Miss Petula has a strange animation in game where her eyes go from having rounded pupils to having slitted, cat-like pupils. This is likely because of her cat theme, but is still strange considering she’s supposed to be a human.

Rare variant of logo cutscene - There is a version of the rare logo reveal cutscene played when opening the game, that features the rare logo itself exploding with candy. This is played in certain versions of the game, likely because of the fact that both the Fudgehog and Horstachio cutscenes feature a sort of dismemberment via them being smashed into bits which can be seen as inappropriate in certain regions.

All the shops have slot machines - A strange detail is that all the shopping menus are made out of slot machines, which might seem odd since slot machines usually have nothing to do with shops or making purchases, more so being related to gambling.

Unidentified voice actors - A lot of the voices provided for the games go unnamed in the credits, however we do know most of the piñata voices are members of the staff and developers. The missing voice actors for the npcs are listed as “Voices provided by 4Kids” with no names attached.

[accio-victuuri]

Style Guide : Xiao Zhan

Zhan Zhan’s style evolution from the cute and warm boy next door to a Top Entertainer. from his trending airport fashion, designer bags and transition to streetwear— here is his story.

I originally wanted to include stuff from his university days but settled on when he started on c-ent. It’s not secret that he was popular in his University and is a fan of designer brands from the start. I will also use airport photos before the ban. for the clothes after, I will just post the picture of what he wore.

I. XFIRE & Idol career

He initially started as a contestant in survival show called x-fire where people saw him as this warm guy who had a really good voice. Once he debuted as part of XNINE, more and more people started noticing him. His unique style that leans more on Japanese chic is what makes him a favorite of fans to photograph in the Airport.

You will see videos of him talking to fans who are there and visiting. You would not think he is as tall he is when you look at his photos. With X-NINE, he blended well with the concepts they have and it’s not as drastic as how KPOP acts do it. He still preserved the quiet and gentle image.

II. Life as an Actor

Xiao Zhan was still promoting with XNINE when he started being active in Dramas. Including the Wolf, that made him decide he wants to be an Actor.

Around this time, he also started shooting the Untamed. His style pretty much remained the same. With his soft and oversized cardigans. However, we get glimpses of him starting to use streetwear. And definitely darker colors.

III. Rising Star

In 2019 and with the Untamed making him a household name— his style has transitioned into a less complicated one. He still had the quirky tops from time to time but his general style has moved into street. I don’t think he ever had an interview where he addressed this and why he changed. One thing is, this makes him less recognizable by people.

In events, he always stuns with high end brands that he partners with. You can also notice that his style has a more matured edge to it. A top actor who is confident who he is and it just make the clothes match him so much better.

IV. Spotlight

After the ban of airport photos and anything outside of his live events— he still continues to carry himself with the same style. oftentimes with a cap and his mask on, completely covering his face. He also preferred baggy pants and nike shoes.

In his rehearsal pictures, the same style is also seen.

HIS STYLE QUIRKS.

1. Oversized cardigans - This is his signature style especially in the early days. It’s impossible to not search for him and not see these moments. In his interviews, he is always asked about this type of style and how achieves it. He countered saying that just use clothes that are comfortable to you. Yeah, those big cardigans really look soft and comfy.

One other thing is that he became really know for a few that he wore at that time. They either get sold out or someone makes knock offs.

2. Eyeglasses - This is more of a necessity than a fashion statement for him but he looks good on them anyway. it adds something special & it just adds to his charm.

3. Stuffed toys - Aaaahhhh! The ones he carries with him at airports. Who can forget? He even accepts ones given by fans and carries it with him. He stopped doing this in 2019 onwards but it’s still nice to reminisce.

4. Bags - Men usually don’t pay that much attention to bags. Just one or two that they use regularly, but it’s different for Xiao Zhan. In one interview, he said that it’s a good accessory. from backpacks, slings and really small ones— he uses it. The Tod’s bag from his shanghai vlog? Sold out so quick.

5. Red bracelet - This one is actually not a fashion statement. GG started wearing this bracelet that his mom made for him in 2015. Since it was his year, he was told to wear it and so he followed. We know how superstitious he is and so it’s not a surprise to see him wear something that is supposed to keep bad things away. This gained more attention to fans when he was seen wearing it in his appearance after the 2*7 fiasco. KXZ, a brand he endorses even popularized it by allowing fans to put red bracelets on his standees in stores. To this day, you can still see him wearing it in his personal time.

TOP BRANDS HE LOVES THE MOST.

1. Gucci - The real leader of the Gucci Gang. If he wears something, the first thing that comes to mind is Gucci. No matter how generic it is, like some baggy jeans or simple shirt— it’s gotta be Gucci. both as a personal preference and what he wears in events. Gucci even invited him for their 2019 fashion week.

2. Balenciaga - I am adding it here because of his iconic balenciaga cap. He wears it frequently and has been associated with it.

3. Nike - I mean, who doesn’t love Nike. Especially Air Jordans. He’s been seen wearing the same pairs multiple times. In 2019, he was even seen wearing a pair of that much coveted paranoise shoes.

4. Off white - Is a streetwear brand is based in Milan. The name of the brand is defined as the grey colour zone in between black and white. They collaborated with a lot of other brands & cater more to the millennial generation. Xiao Zhan has been seen wearing this brand frequently.

5. Stussy - is a brand that started from the surf scene in California. They have a store opened in Shanghai and has a special collection dedicated to it. Xiao Zhan has been seen wearing it since 2016 at the earliest during his off time.

That’s it for Xiao Zhan. I would like to add that it’s really exciting to see what he will wear next, especially in events. In his track record, he prefers Gucci, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent and Balmain.<3

[zhoutd2511]

OUTD 2511 Blog Prompt 9-10

These three things I know for certain about outdoor recreation research:

Qualitative vs. Quantitative Date: Through this class it brought me about to high school where I learned about both qualitative and quantitative dates. But, this class showed me that I do prefer qualitative data because the collected date is more than just figures on a sheet of paper. I enjoy how qualitative data represents the individual's thoughts.

Ethics: I know that ethics are one of the most vital when doing research. Ethics are moral principles that help guide a person's decision making. I know that it is crucial when performing research that individuals who are in a vulnerable position will require an REB. Ethics are important to understand when doing research because it gives people the respect they need such as privacy, and dignity. Ethics in research help promote a safe environment and values of each individual. REB are special for youth that can legally not aloud to be in research due to it being vulnerable Neuman and Robson explain that “unless a researcher meets two minimal conditions: (1) a legal guardian grants written permission, and (2) the researcher follows all standard ethical principles to protect the participant from harm” (Neuman & Robson, 2018).

Coding: Coding is an easy way to organize your notes, and to help you with research. An example of this is seen in my podcast group as I made a survey, and took all the data and organized it to make sure that the data was concise and easy to follow. But I have also used my experience from highschool data management to make sure that I properly deal with the data that is collected.

These three things I am still confused by:

Interviewing: I have never interviewed someone in my life face to face. Unlike where I have used google forms to ask questions. I think it would be beneficial if i have a chance to interview someone in the future to help me with research.

Is research mandatory when I do not plan on doing any?

Invisible Backpack: I still do not fully understand what the Invisible Backpack is. I tried to do some research on my own and the first thing that pops up on google is white privilege so now i am even more confused about this whole invisible backpack. I can kinda understand it when research is being done however, I do not understand it for each individual.

These three things I know for certain about me as an outdoor recreation researcher: I understand why research is important. However, in this program I do not plan on doing any research within the program unless it is for assignments, and I do not plan on doing any after university due to the career field I am going into. I understand how it is relevant for this program if you are going into a field to do research but I do not think this should be a mandatory class.

Qualitative data: If I had to do research on a topic again for class I would want to focus on qualitative data because I prefer the words of people of just numbers. People can express way more emotions and give you quotes for research

I don't like doing research in topics that do not interest me: Not to be a debbie downer, But throughout this course I did not like not having the freedom of creating your own blog prompts. Because of this some of my blog posts were mediocre and I did not put as much focus into a lot of them. Luckly, for the podcast I was very interested in the topic because it involved rock climbing and mental health/ well-being. For most of my education I have always focused on doing assignments on well-being and mental health.

I like learning about mental- health and well-being: To continue with mental health and well-being would most likely be the only thing I will do research on due to the benefits of outdoor recreation and mental health. But I also love the correlation between extreme sports and mental health and how beneficial it is to take part in an extreme sport.

These three areas I need to spend time developing/learning in order to feel more confident in my skills:

I need to be less vague: When it comes to doing work that I am not interested in I tend to be vague when explaining or writing. I also struggle with communication and giving good examples for work. I need to be able to expand my thinking and relate it to my thesis and just in general

Creating/analyzing surveys: I would like to spend more time creating surveys because I feel like I lost that skill when I went into university. But in highschool I was pretty good at it. That being said, I would like to create more in the future to help me expand my knowledge and help me with my research for clubs, assignments or my own personal use. I would also like to explore new programs such as Google forms, QuestionPro, SurveySparrow, SurveyLegend are all programs that I would like to use to further my experience with research to be more confident in my skills.

Group work: I also need to spend more time with group work. I enjoy working alone most of the time and not having to rely on others to make sure that they get their jobs done so that the group can succeed. Furthermore, the more time i will spend with the groups will help me with my leadership style since im a Laissez-Faire leader i tend to lay back and let someone else take control of the group. I feel like I just let the leader tell me what to do and I have no problem with that, it just does not help me with my leadership skills within group work.

References

Neuman, W. L., & Robson, K. (2018). Chapter 3 Ethics in Social Research. In Basics of Social Research Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches (4th Canadian Edition, pp. 40 - 62). essay, Pearson.

[retrocgads]

UK 1985

[joheun-saram]

promise - 1 (knj)

Chapter 1: New Year’s Eve

masterlist | next

Summary- It’s NYE and you can’t wait to bring in 2017 surrounded by your friends, but there’s a new cute boy around. You’re intrigued but quickly find out there is it’s no good being cute when he’s literally the most infuriating person you’ve met.

word count- 3.1k

pairing- asshole!Namjoon x Reader (alternatively, edgelord!Namjoon)

rating- PG15

genre- collegeau, roommatesau, enemies2lovers, slow burn, this chapter is platonic fluff(and angst I guess), future angst, fluff and smut

warnings- alcohol consumption, marijuana consumption, Namjoon being an absolute ass, he’s against socialism for a hot second (to rile her up, our Joonie is still woke tho nw), mention of sex, Jungkook’s parents based on my actual best friend’s parents (shoutout to their amazing jello shots!)

a.n- Well, well, well... if it isn’t my simp ass writing another Namjoon series. Love that about me. Get ready for some slow burn and a lot of Namjoon just being annoying! 🥴This is a drabbleish series so most parts will be about 2-3k.

Thanks for the beautiful @ditttiii​ for beta reading and to @aroseforyoongi​ for helping me with the political argument (also for dubbing this Namjoon edgelord!joon 🤣)

As always feedback appreciated, a reblog and a like goes a far way. Send me an ask! 💌

taglist- @namyoongles​ @cheesecakes-randomshitz​ 

Send me an ask to be on the taglist!

-

You were running late. Very late.  With a sigh you watched the street pass you by in a blur, the distant roar of your bus dimmed by the rap music that blasted through your ears. You looked at the group chat to be bombarded by messages.

Jungkook: bro istg if you’re not here in the next ten minutes

Hoseok: HURRY UP! JK IS DOING SHOTS WITH HIS DAD OMFG

Jimin: OMG Y/N. WE’RE GETTING DRUNK WITHOUT YOU

Jungkook: adsdsd duddde u suk wdt syop taling foevr

Yoongi: I’m gonna drink all the whiskey I got from Korea this week if you don’t get your butt over here.

Yoongi: Jieun says hi btw!

The texts continued to devolve into nonsense as you willed the bus to move faster. You were annoyed. Jungkook had planned the new year’s party at his parent’s house, and you were beyond excited to party, having spent the entire winter break stuck at home with your parents as they argued over the smallest things. You tightened your grip around your duffle bag as the bus came to a stop. Trudging through the snow you finally reached the familiar red door of your best friend’s house.

You knocked, taking in the large three-storey suburban house as you waited to be let in, already digging through your backpack for the bottle of tequila you had brought along. If they took any more time to open the door, you were going to start drinking right there on the porch. Before you could uncap your bottle, you were greeted by Jungkook’s dad, the familiar, jolly older man moved his hair out of his eyes as he greeted you.

However, before you could finally get out of the cold, he stopped you, presenting a tray of colourful jello shots.

“Y/N! Penalty for being late. You have to take a shot!” He laughed as you sputtered, his face reddened by what you assumed was alcohol. You had known Jungkook since the two of you were freshmen in university and had routinely stayed with him and his parents during break, but you had never seen Mr. Jeon this drunk. You stood awkwardly, not knowing what to do as he insisted, your friend finally joining him and encouraging you as you tentatively took a shot.

“I changed my mind! One of every colour!” Mr Jeon exclaimed joyously as Jungkook groaned.

“Dad! It’s cold. Let her in!” He whined and thankfully, you were let in. Taking off your shoes and leaving your bag by the door, you ventured into the living room where you saw all your friends. Hoseok leaned where he sat on the couch, his face buried in his phone as he, no doubt, texted his hookup. Jimin danced next to the Christmas tree the Jeons had yet to put away with a glass of liquor as Yoongi played the piano in the corner, cuddling with his girlfriend Jieun. Bubbling warmth swelled your heart as you saw all your favourite people.

“Come on let’s get you a drink!” Jungkook put his arm around you, planting most of his weight on you due to the alcohol raging through his veins as he guided you to the kitchen through the living room. In the kitchen, you were met by the sight of his parents swaying together to Yoongi’s expert piano skills, and a man you didn’t recognize sitting at the breakfast island, talking to Jungkook’s younger sister animatedly, who seemed to be trying to leave the conversation.

Jungkook poured you a rum and coke, easy on the coke, as he made his way to the breakfast bar. You stood next to his sister, making small talk before she excused herself to go to her room. She never stuck around long during these get-togethers. 

When she left, you were left standing awkwardly next to the only stranger at this party. The first thing you noticed was that he was tall. Much taller than all your friends, his dark black hair styled away from his face, a strand falling on his forehead shaped like a comma. He was dressed much like everyone else in dark wash jeans and a navy t-shirt with white leaves outlined on the sleeves, except his jeans fit him almost too perfectly, sculpting his thick thighs. Although he seemed friendly, greeting you with a pretty dimpled smile, your sudden attraction to him made you nervous.

“Hi. I’m Namjoon,” he said, eyeing you from over his cup as he sipped whatever concoction he was drinking.

“Oh shit! I keep forgetting you guys have never met!” Jungkook slurred as he sidled up to the two of you with his stool, leaving you standing between the two sitting boys. “Namjoon and I have been friends for years. I think we probably met the same time you and I did, but I guess we never ended up meeting together?” He ended his statement as a question, and it surprised you. You thought in three years you would have met all of his friends. 

“Well, that and I took a break from school. I was doing an internship in California.” He beamed, clearly proud of his achievement. “I worked at Twitch, you know them?” He smirked, and you had to fight your urge to roll your eyes. Of course, he worked in Cali. You went to a university renowned for its engineering degree and it was the goal of every software engineering student to land an internship in California. Those lucky enough to achieve it used it as social currency and bragging rights. You despise those people. It wasn’t that you weren’t smart enough to land that opportunity, in fact, you were coming off of your internship with Facebook last term, but you always felt flaunting a job to be such an ugly trait. However, Namjoon was Jungkook’s friend and so you let it slide.

“Ah Twitch. Very cool.” you hummed as you drank.

“Yeah. What program are you in?” He asked, continuing the conversation as Jungkook disappeared to talk to his parents, trying to convince them to retire for the night since they had embarrassed him enough.

“Computer science,” you replied non-committedly, watching his face break into a wide smile.

“Oh, that’s so cool! Me too!” He replied excitedly. You had to admit, his smile was very charming and you let your guard down a little more. Maybe he just got influenced by kids in your program to brag about Cali. “I haven’t seen you in any of my classes though! Would’ve remembered you. None of the other compsci girls are this pretty.” He smirked, clearly proud of his flirtatious comment. You narrowed your eyes at him, immediately put off.

“So glad to know you deem me pretty enough to notice.” You rolled your eyes, before grabbing your bottle of tequila and a few disposable shot glasses and making your way to the living room. “Well, it was… okay to meet you. I’m gonna go do shots.”

“Wait! I’m sorry, did I offend you?” he asked, brows furrowed in confusion as he easily caught up to you, walking beside you and even sitting next to you on the floor, as you lined up the glasses to pour the drinks for everyone.

“No it’s cool, dude. We just don’t have anything in common,” you said nonchalantly as the rest of your friends crowded the table, excitedly taking a shot glass in hand as Jungkook waltzed in with a plate full of lime wedges and an intricately expensive-looking salt shaker. Namjoon didn’t say anything as everyone took their shots, but watched you throw back your drink, noticing the small smile that overtook your features as the alcohol from earlier finally started to take effect. 

After a few more shots, the party really started. Although there were only seven people, your rowdy, borderline chaotic group had you laughing. Hoseok was going on some tale about his adventures back home where he ended up at a bar with his high school friends and got the numbers of four girls by doing a disgustingly named muff-diver shot. He bragged about his game, and you burst his bubble by telling him it was really only because he was hot. Something he didn’t take much offence to as he wiggled his eyebrows at you. Namjoon, however, came to Hoseok’s defence, much to your annoyance.

“And how would you know? I doubt Hobi here has used his A+ game on you.” He raised an eyebrow in challenge, making you scoff as you rolled your eyes.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well… you guys are friends, I doubt he would try to pick you up.” He spoke with a logical tone, as he eyed you and Hoseok.

“Oh really? Okay Hobi. Since your game is so great. Let’s see it.” You turned around, staring at your friend next to you. Namjoon leaned back against his hands on the floor, watching the scene unfold with a smirk.

“Really darling? Don’t blame me when you fall for me.” Hoseok moved closer, finishing his drink as you huffed in annoyance. You were in your first stage of drunk, the stage where you got mean for no reason

“Get on with it, loser. Your face is making me drier as we speak.” You waved as Hoseok leaned in, his nose rubbing gently against your ear, his breath on your neck, making you shiver slightly.

“Hey baby, how about you let me take you downstairs and defile you on Jungkook’s Iron Man sheets.” His voice was low, almost a growl. You never thought you would hear Hoseok’s sexy pickup voice and you were sure that if you were someone who had not seen him whine and cling onto you after a few drinks, you’d be putty in his hand. Instead, you burst out laughing, doubling over with your hands on his thighs as tears of mirth filled your eyes. Not one to give up that easily, Hoseok continued.

“See. I’m a funny guy Y/N. Let me eat that pussy!” He couldn’t hold back any longer either, his voice breaking at the word pussy as he too devolved into a fit of laughter. His comment, however, broke Yoongi and Jieun out of their bubble as they looked up from their make out session, looks of horror on their faces.

“Please tell me you did not just say that Hobi!” Jieun chided, her voice shrill.

“That’s fucking disgusting.” Yoongi shivered as he drank more of his whiskey in an attempt to calm himself. Hoseok and you continued laughing at your friends’ reaction, the rest of the group joining in, except Namjoon who seemed to be watching the two of you with raised brows.

“Wait. I don’t get it. That should’ve worked.”

“Yeah dude. Y/N what the fuck? Let me eat that pussy!” Hoseok grabbed you by the shoulders, shaking you while screaming at your face, between giggles.

“Oh my god. I’m gonna get a stomach ache. Stop!” you wheezed, before turning to Namjoon. “Sorry dude. I’ve literally helped Hobi pee once. There’s no going back to sexy when you see him whine about forgetting how urinating works.”

“Yeah and no offence babe, but you literally had your hands on my dick and it was flaccid as hell.”

“You guys are weirdly close,” Namjoon commented, his face scrunched as he assessed you and Hoseok.

“You think they’re close, you should see her and Jungkook. They even slept together!” Jimin remarks finally sitting down after dancing by himself for the past twenty minutes.

“And it was fucking horrible. High five!” Jungkook leans over the coffee table to slap his hand against yours, the two of you giggling.

“What kind of incestuous group is this?” Namjoon remarked, sipping his drink before turning to you where he watched you leaned over the table as you still slapped your hand against Jungkook’s to the beat of the music. “So when’s my turn?”

“Excuse me?” You recoil away from Namjoon, almost jumping in Hoseok’s lap. Oh here it was; stage two of your drunk persona, anger. You felt it coursing in your veins at his insinuation. “Who the fuck do you think I am?”

“Apparently the group dick toucher.” He smirked again, that annoying lopsided smile that made his one dimple deepen in his cheek. “I promise I won’t be flaccid like Hobi was.”

“Okay! Y/N and I are going on a walk!” Hoseok exclaimed as he saw your fist clenched. He knew you were ten seconds away from punching Namjoon in the face, and he put his arms around your waist and easily hoisted you up, walking you to the front door.

“Hobi I swear to god, I’m gonna murder him.” You glared at Namjoon as he returned your heated stare with an easy smile and a wave.

“I know babe. So we’re going on a walk. Let’s go pick up some food, yeah?”

The two of you walked around the block to the nearest McDonalds, picking up an assortment of cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets for the party, even getting Namjoon what he wanted, despite your burning desire that he starve to death. By the time, you returned to the party and took a couple more shots you were sufficiently cheered up. Hoseok had that affect on you, calming your mood with his jokes and anecdotes. 

Cuddled with Hoseok as you sat between his legs on the couch, the two of you shared a vape as you let the weed settle in your bones with a mellow buzz. Jimin sat in front of you on the floor, leaning against you as you ran your hands through his hair, enjoying the soft fluff. You were so glad that he had decided to forego his usual hair wax today. You felt like you were in utter bliss, your annoyance with Namjoon long forgotten. That is until you tuned into his conversation with Jungkook - not that you had any choice, because even though he seemed to be talking to Jungkook, his eyes were pointed at you.

“I’m just saying capitalism is the reason you’re sitting here in this nice home. People who can’t afford healthcare or education just need to work harder. That’s how life works.” Namjoon sipped his drink, raising an eyebrow at you, and you decidedly ignored his baiting. It was like he was trying to get you mad on purpose. You didn’t understand his gameplan. Why couldn’t he just let you enjoy bringing in 2017 like an adult?

“Dude… why are we even talking about this?” Jungkook groaned, face scrunching in distaste.

“I’m just saying people shouldn’t look for a handout when there are literally thousands of skills they could learn to make their lives easier. Why are we using our tax dollars for the lazy?” Namjoon shrugged nonchalantly, his gaze boring holes into you as you stared him down. Oh curse your stupid resolve, why did this fucker know you so well, you literally just met! Before you could stop yourself, you were speaking.

“I’m sorry, are you stupid? That is literally the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Education and healthcare are a human right!” Your voice was louder than usual, startling Hoseok and Jimin as you suddenly stood up, walking over to where a smug looking Namjoon and a confused Jungkook sat on the floor.

“I’m not, but you must be, to not realize that we could invest in teaching people skills to make money instead of just giving them money. Don’t tell me you’re a communist.” He sipped his drink, his eyes dancing with mirth, relishing the fact that he had gotten you to argue. And argue you did, for over an hour, the room forgotten as the two of you discussed social policies and taxation laws, ignoring Jungkook’s protests (“We live in a social democracy!”). You could feel the fire in your veins as you raised your voice, while he calmly discussed the matter at hand. Even though Namjoon was the most infuriating person you had ever met, the fact that he kept up with your arguments was extremely satisfying. Your friends knew you were the kind of person to debate a point until all the sides were uncovered so they would never start an argument with you, and as much as you hated Namjoon, you loved that he was such a great sparring partner.

“Oh my god! Shut the fuck up!” Jimin yelled suddenly, breaking you and Namjoon out of your bubble, as you looked at your usually bubbly friend, staring daggers at you. You sheepishly apologized, just as the countdown began.

Everyone stood and you followed suit. However the alcohol in your body decided to catch up as you stumbled, instinctively grabbing on to Namjoon’s arm to not fall over. As you’ve started to realize is his ammo, he one-upped you, putting his arm around your waist and pulling you into his chest. Fuck, why does it feel so nice and firm?

The countdown got closer to one and you felt trapped by his gaze, an intense look in his eye as he smirked at you. His eyes travelled from your eyes to your lips and you felt as if your chest was getting tighter.

“Three!” your friends yelled, but your mouth felt too dry to speak up. You licked your lips and Namjoon’s smirk widened. Why did you find his arrogant face so attractive all of a sudden? You wanted to punch him not two seconds ago!

“Two!” He started to lean in and despite yourself, you started anticipating his lips on yours. 

“One!” Suddenly, your earlier resolve kicked in. No dude who insulted you all night was going to touch you. You pushed him off turning around to Jungkook.

“Happy New Year!” You pulled your best friend towards you by his collar, giving him a loud peck on the lips as everyone cheered. Jungkook smiled, pulling you into a hug and jostling you around, giving you a chance to catch the dumbfounded look on Namjoon’s face.

You hugged all of your friends in turn, and when Namjoon, still with his mouth slightly ajar, looked at you expectantly, you raised your hand to him with a smug smile. You kind of felt bad for the way he deflated before he shook your hand, but before you could dwell too much on that feeling, he tugged you closer.

“Well played,” he whispered in your ear, his breath ghosting your neck, and you felt heat rising up your neck. You pulled away with a scowl and before he could say anything else, your phone pinged, the screen lit with the last name you wanted to see.

Taehyung (3 messages)

Oh great. What did the fuck did he want?

-

masterlist | next

I hope you liked this! Let me know what you think. For more of my works visit my masterlist!

[jmnjmnjmn]

Mission Status ... | Part 1 | Idol!Yoongi x NonIdol!Reader | Miniseries

Pairing: Idol!Yoongi x NonIdol!Reader

Sides: BestFriend!Jimin, BestFriend!Taehyung

Keywords: established relationship, clueless best friends

Warnings: swearing, misunderstanding, stress, anxiety

Word count: around 2,000

I wrote this one as a part of the Girl Crush universe, but it can totally work on its own so do not feel pressured to read the other one shot. They do work nicely together, but are just as good stand alone pieces as well 😌 This one will come in three parts so stay tuned...

Request

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Masterlist

Taehyung shut the front door of the apartment he shared with his six best friends and slipped his shoes off quickly. He twirled his earbuds in his fingers as he walked slowly to his bedroom but before he could get to the half-way mark he heard a quiet hiss and a snap of fingers. He lifted his head and noticed Jimin and Seokjin, frozen in weird poses. They stood glued to the kitchen wall separating the living area from the short corridor leading to a couple of the bedrooms in the apartment. Jimin raised his index finger to his lips, signalling for the other boy to remain quiet. With a raised brow he stood in the middle of the living room area.

“I’m just so tired and so stressed all the time,” a faint female whine made its way to the three pairs of attentive ears. Taehyung quickly put two and two together, realising his friends were eavesdropping on Yoongi and Yn talking in the latter boy’s bedroom. He scrunched his eyebrows at the sadness in the girl’s tone, something he wasn’t too used to hearing despite being her friend for over a year. “It’s like it doesn’t even make sense to keep going like this,” Jimin locked eyes with Taehyung. The two didn’t need words to communicate what they were feeling at the moment. Their friends who they worked so hard to set up with each other, the same friends who they’ve never seen happier since they started dating, were having an argument that sounded serious.

“I know,” Yoongi murmured. By the shuffling that accompanied his voice, it seemed the two were seated on the bed together.

Taehyung tiptoed to Jimin and Seokjin. From where they were standing he noticed Namjoon, Hoseok and Jungkook peeking their heads through the cracked door of the latest one’s bedroom. The three didn’t even glance his way too preoccupied with fishing out every word of the conversation Yoongi and Yn were having.

“What if” -Taehyung frowned at the start of the sentence as what-ifs rarely foretold anything positive- “that maybe that’s- that’s it and I should just- leave,” Yn stuttered out with a shaky voice. She sounded close to crying and it made all six of the boys feel very uneasy.

“Don’t say that,” Yoongi hummed firmly. Jimin rolled his eyes at the gruff sound of his tone, wondering why didn’t he try to sound more comforting when his girlfriend was so distressed.

“What if it’s true?” she whimpered. Her voice was less audible now as she covered her face with her palms in an attempt to stop her mind from racing, to shut the whole world out and forget about her problems and worries.

Yoongi pulled himself up on the bed next to Yn. In a sitting position, he reached down to her frame resting on the soft surface of his grey bed covers. He ran his hands over her forearms stopping at her wrists which he slowly pulled away revealing her reddened face. She kept her eyes shut and mouth twisted in a slight frown. He laid back down bringing his face close enough to hers so their noses rubbed against each other.

“Don’t be like that,” he purred in a deep voice he knew she liked so much. Seeing as her face relaxed slightly he felt the corners of his lips rise. “Please,” he tried again and she slowly batted her eyes open. Yoongi’s heart skipped a bit when he looked into her shining irises. Her pupils were widened because of the dim lighting in the room making the sparks he always saw in them dance a little more lazily. “Remember when yesterday you said-” Yn interrupted him by pulling herself up and shaking her head slowly. She scrunched her forehead, bringing an anxiety-induced frown to her face once again.

“Oppa, I can’t-”

“YN-ah,” Yoongi said in a warning-like tone at the sound of which the six boys outside his bedroom door almost face paled themselves instantly. “Listen to me-” His words were cut off by the sudden slam of his bedroom door. With it closed, there was no way to keep eavesdropping on the very private conversation between the two. From the outside looking, or more likely hearing, in the situation seemed quite clear though. Yn wasn’t feeling good about her relationship with Yoongi and he wasn’t making her change her mind with the way he was speaking and acting.

The six boys looked over each other with expressions that were more than concerned. They quietly shifted into the living room taking seats around the dark-wood coffee table and quickly started whispering about all possible theories regarding the supposed argument they just witnessed. Barely minutes into their heated discussion Yoongi’s bedroom door opened once again and the six pairs of eyes travelled to the silhouette of a boy holding onto the metal handle.

“I’ll walk you down,” Yoongi murmured, guiding Yn out of the room with his hand resting on the small of her back.

“You don’t have-” he breathed in sharply, making a hissing sound to interrupt her attempt at making him stay inside.

“It’s fine. I like to do it,” he said without hesitation.

Yn smiled at him softly, admiring the shine of his irises. Her arms wrapped around him as he brought her towards his chest, enclosing her in a warm, loving hug. No longer touching but still in each other’s personal space, the two walked into the living room, unaware of the observing audience composed of the remaining residents of the BTS dorm.

“Hi, guys,” Yn greeted the six boys with a sincere but tired smile.

Her gaze lingered a little longer on Taehyung who she was closest to as he muttered out a similar greeting.

“I’m gonna go walk YN down,” Yoongi said over his shoulder, not paying any mind to his friends’ suspicious stares.

“You okay?” Hoseok asked, trying to sound casual to which Yoongi just hummed out a simple ‘mhm’ before walking out the apartment with his girlfriend’s hand in his.

Sound of the shutting door was all the boys needed to start their discussion again. “He’s not okay,”, “It sounded bad.”, “They can’t break up.” were just a couple of worrying statements thrown around in the conversation.

“Taehyung, what are you doing?” Jimin asked his friend who just pulled out his phone and was now rapidly typing out a message.

“Texting Yn,” he answered to which Jimin pulled the device out of his grip furiously.

“Don’t do it now!” he scolded him. “She’ll suspect something. We have to play this right.”

“Play what right?” Taehyung shot right back confused by what just happened.

“I- I don’t know yet, but we have to do something.” Jimin stuttered out and glanced over the boys seated on the grey couch around him. “Don’t you agree?”

“Definitely,” Seokjin exclaimed sternly and slapped his hands on his knees. “We cannot let the two of them break apart. They’re perfect for each other.” Everyone else hummed in agreement.

“Okay, I’ve got an idea,” Namjoon joined in. Like Jin and Jimin he too thought Yoongi and Yn were an ideal fit. Nonetheless, he didn’t want to act in the heat of the moment and preferred working out a plan first. “Let’s try to read the situation a little better before we jump into-”

“Taehyung, as soon as Yoongi gets back text YN,” Namjoon sighed as Jin interrupted him without a second thought.

“That’s not what I meant-”

“Don’t ask her anything too straight forward though,” he tried a second time only to be interrupted by his Hyung once again. “Try to have a regular conversation and when she suspects it the least-”

“Ask about Yoongi Hyung!” Jimin exclaimed, making Namjoon snap.

“No!” he yelled out, making all five of his friends’ eyes instantly travel to him. “That’s not gonna work. You can’t force them into anything. We have to work them out separately.”

“Ah, I hear what you’re saying,” Hoseok hummed. “Play two courts at once and then-”

“Join them together,” Taehyung finished his sentence with a mischievous smile.

“Exactly,” the group’s leader nodded. “You talk to YN, get her into a good mood,” he ordered Taehyung before gesturing between Hoseok, Seokjin and himself. “We’ll talk to Yoongi Hyung and do the same thing. When we’ll have them both prepped up we’ll set them up on the most romantic date,” Jungkook scrunched his forehead unsure about his Hyungs plan.

“You think that’s gonna work?” he asked him, raising his brow up slightly.

“You have a better idea?” having his question be met with silence Namjoon nodded energetically. “Exactly.”

“Where are we going to set up that date? Everything’s closed,” Hoseok wondered out loud.

“Here,” Jin said, gesturing to their surroundings. “We’ll clean and prepare food, trick Yoongi into dressing nice,” He pointed his finger at Jimin and Taehyung. “You two will get her here, where the mood will be already set up, and then we’ll leave them to themselves,” he leaned back in his seat content with the plan. “Everything will work itself out-” his tongue got caught in his throat as the familiar robotic jingle announced someone was unlocking the door fro the outside.

Yoongi walked inside the apartment, slipped his shoes off and walked to his bedroom. He shut the door behind himself without too loud of a thud and went to retrieve his laptop from the depths of his backpack.

“He’s mad,” Jungkook whispered to the rest of the boys.

“Shit, what if it goes deeper than we can reach?” Taehyung whined hoping his words were nowhere to the truth.  “What if they just broke up downstairs and now he’s crying in his room-” Jimin slapped his shoulder before wrapping his arm around it. “If YN and Hyung break up she won’t want to come over anymore and I can’t have that. They can’t become cold and awkward.”

“Stop it,” Jimin cooed in the most comforting tone he could muster up at the moment.

“Don’t worry, Taehyung-ah,” Jungkook joined in rubbing his friends back. “We’ll do all we can.”

“Mission ‘get Grim Reaper and Passionate Rock back together’ is on,” Taehyung chuckled through the anxiety riling up in his body.

“You’re so corny,” Jimin giggled tightening his grip on him. “Also this is way too long for a mission name.”

[hawkbucks]

Prompt: I always see you in the library and I think you’re really cute so I leave you little post it notes on your work whenever you go and get a book just to see you blush AU.

Note: Originally sent in by an anon on my now-deleted older blog (as is usual with these reposted ficlets jgkfld) 

It starts, like every good this-is-how-I-met-my-boyfriend story does, with Bucky dragging himself to the library after barely getting 2 hours of sleep last night.

With his trusty can of Red Bull and an ancient laptop that might as well have had dust spluttering out of its vents, he sits down in silent isolation from the other groups of students who take the library as a place to socialize and listen to music without earphones on as opposed to actually studying or writing their 3 essays that are due the next day. (He does, however, realize the hypocrisy in his way of thinking considering the obscene amount of time that he spends shooting the shit with Steve, Sam, and Nat in their group chat whilst his physics homework lies ignored.)

He takes a generous gulp of his Red Bull and turns on his laptop, ready to wait the 34 years it takes to boot up. The chair creaks disconcertingly underneath him as he leans back, but he’s had too many sleepless nights and too many mental breakdowns to care. If it snaps, it snaps. A trip to the hospital for a bashed-in head would at least give him an excuse to take time off from the hell that is university.

His laptop groans like it wants him to put it out of its misery, preferably with a BB pellet to the motherboard. He watches as the screen flashes white and the Baintronics logo pops up and swirls on the screen. A black loading bar appears under the logo. He waits, tapping his fingers on the table.

5%

30%

Somehow unloads to 19%

5–hold on. There’s movement in his peripheral vision. People sometimes come and intrude in his little corner when they’re tired of everyone else like he is, and it’s been long enough since the last person that he curiously looks up–

–and promptly lays his eyes on the cutest guy he’s ever seen. His black hair sits in a mess of soft-looking curls on his head, he’s wearing an oversized t-shirt with the Jurassic Park logo on it (Bucky thinks he’s in love already), and a pair of glasses perches on the bridge of his nose. Glasses. Bucky chokes on his spit and almost tips his chair over. It’s not creepy, he tells himself as his eyes follow the cute guy who ends up sitting two tables over and, thankfully, ends up sitting in a way so that Bucky can see his face. He watches as he take out a sleek laptop, a binder, and dumps out a bunch of pencils and pens. No, I’m just… admiring his looks. And it’s not like Steve doesn’t openly ogle Thor every time they pass each other… fuck, Barnes, get it together.

Bucky shakes his head and turns his attention back to his laptop screen.

As it turns out, concentrating on his stupid study guide for this stupid quiz that’s coming up is near impossible when the adorable (yeah, because cute just isn’t enough) guy keeps shifting in his seat and giving Bucky excuses to look over. Bucky’s trying to remember all these formulas but the only thing that he’s committing to memory is the way that the guy sticks the tip of his tongue out when he’s, presumably, deep in thought, or the way that he has to blow his bangs out of his face when they come down to cover his eyes. The study guide, Barnes! Bucky’s mind yells. You don’t even know this guy! Stop mooning over him!

He goes back to writing down practice problems in his notebook and gets maybe 4 problems in when he hears wood screeching against linoleum and realizes that Adorable Guy has gotten up, leaving behind pretty much everything. Bit trusting, isn’t he?

Then, a light bulb flickers on in Bucky’s head. He rummages around in his backpack for some post-it notes.

He pulls out a stack of post-its–the pastel blue ones that he was supposed to be using for his history class but never actually got around to doing so. They’ll do. Just wanted to say that you’re cute, he scratches out on one post-it. His stomach twists and turns as he peels it off and tiptoes over to Adorable Guy’s seat, looking around to make sure he isn’t seen. Before his mind can catch up and tell him that this is a terrible idea, he flattens the post-it on the binder and slinks back to his own table.

He doesn’t know when Adorable Guy will be back, but he works on making himself look as busy as possible. There aren’t many other people around, but there are other people, so hopefully the guy won’t assume it was Bucky if he looked like he was elbow-deep in physics. He taps his foot, impatient.

1 thunk of Bucky’s head against the table later, and Adorable Guy comes back with a veritable stack of books in his arms. Bucky watches over the top of his laptop as Adorable Guy lays the books down and looks at his binder in confusion, sliding into his seat.

He picks the note up, reads it, and a pretty pink starts to rise up on his cheeks and dust itself across the bridge of their nose. He look around with wide eyes, seeming to take in everyone surrounding him and calculating who’s most likely to have written him that note. “Excuse me.” He reaches out towards Bucky, the note in his hand and sounding as sweet as Bucky thought he would. “Did you see anyone leave this here?”

Bucky puts on his best confused face and shrugs. “No, sorry.” He tries to not stare into the other’s eyes, even if, as cliche as it is, he feels like he could get lost in them.

Adorable Guy nods. “It’s fine.” And he turns away, just like that, probably pondering on whether it’s worth it to bother others and solve this mystery.

Bucky goes back to looking busy, but continues to watch over his laptop as Adorable Guy smiles softly, folds the note, and puts it into their pencil bag.

Oh, Bucky’s so screwed.

If anyone notices that Bucky starts frequenting the library even more than he usually does in the following weeks, they don’t say anything. Well, okay, they don’t say anything, but Natasha does throw him questioning looks and Sam wiggles his eyebrows at him. He might just have a tiny, slight addiction to passing on some anonymous notes to Adorable Guy. It’s just small. Miniscule. It’s not like his day feels a tad bit worse whenever he sees that Adorable Guy aren’t in his seat, and it’s not like his day brightens up whenever he sees him blush after reading one of his newest notes.

Nuh-uh. None of that.

None of Bucky waiting impatiently for Adorable Guy to get up and get some new books before he writes, Your hair is looking especially good today, when Adorable Guy comes in with his hair looking extra fluffy, or before Bucky writes, You’re smart. Just keep studying, I know you can do it, when he notices that Adorable Guy is huffing and puffing and running his hands though his hair more than usual.

None of Bucky barely able to hold in his own smiles, feeling his heart flutter when Adorable Guy positively beams.

All of this and it’s without Bucky actually knowing the other’s name. He realizes that he should remedy that sooner rather than later, but for now… he supposes he can keep anonymous for a little while longer.

As if on cue, Adorable Guy gets out of his seat again. Part of Bucky wonders if Adorable Guy has grown as excited as he is about the notes; he’s been getting up more and more, and he comes back empty handed or with a bag of chips from the vending machine more often than with another stack of books.

Quickly, Bucky takes out another stack of post-its–this time in a light pink–and writes, I’m not sure if you’ll still be coming here after this quarter is over, but I just wanted to say that you really are beautiful. Thanks for hanging around. He signs it with a smiley face and begins that familiar walk to the other’s table.

“You!” Adorable Guy whispers as he pops out from behind a bookcase, looking entirely too delighted and proud of himself, when Bucky’s about to stick the note onto the table.

Bucky freezes like a deer caught in headlights. He’s maybe 0.5 seconds away from bolting and never stepping foot in that library ever again, even if it is the one that’s closest to his classes. “Me?”

“You’re the one that’s been leaving the notes–” Adorable Guy licks his lips, and Bucky wonders if he picked up on his nervousness– “I’m not angry or disappointed or anything, if you think that’s the case. Now that I think about it, it’s actually, uh, kind of obvious that it was you, but… I’ve been wondering for a while, and… yeah.”

“Yeah,” Bucky repeats. He moves to cram the note into his pocket.

“No!” Adorable Guy blurts out, which earns them quite a few dirty looks. He bows his head in apology towards the disgruntled students and turns back to Bucky. “Don’t. I wanna read it.”

Bucky raises an eyebrow. “You sure?”

“I was sure about reading all of the notes you gave me before I knew who you were,” Adorable Guy retorts and sticks his hand out. “Now let me read it. Please?” He actually pouts, and that’s incredibly unfair.

Hesitantly, Bucky places the note in Adorable Guy’s outstretched hand (because he’s pretty sure if he tried to go against that pout, he’d get sent straight to hell immediately) and stuffs his own hands into his pockets. He can feel a thin layer of sweat start to form on his brow, which is ridiculous because usually he isn’t this nervous around people he finds attractive. Although, to be fair, none of them have ever looked like the guy in front of him.

Perhaps it’s because he’s a masochist, but he doesn’t look away and prevent himself from seeing Adorable Guy’s reaction. So, when his eyes light up and he smiles and that blush is back and Bucky realizes that he’s seeing this face to face, he smiles right back.

“God, you’re sweet, aren’t you?” Adorable Guy laughs, holding up the note. “I swear this just gave me cavities.”

Bucky rubs the back of his neck. “Sorry. I’ll pay the dentist’s bill.”

“You better,” Adorable Guy teases. “I”m gonna need a name so I know who to make it out to.” He steps just the slightest bit closer and Bucky tries not to choke on his own spit again.

“James,” Bucky replies, “but my friends call me Bucky.”

“I’m Tony.” Tony. Tony, Tony, Tony. It’s nice to be able to put a name to the face, and Bucky suspects he’s not gonna tire of saying Tony’s name any time soon.

“So, Tony…” Bucky looks at the table and quickly snatches up a notepad and a pencil. Tony doesn’t seem to mind, or he at least doesn’t protest. Bucky quickly writes something out, then turns it around and hands it to Tony.

Would you like to go out for lunch?

[yuta-nakamots]

Candle Light - l.hc ; Part 1 of 2

Pairing - College!Haechan x Ghost!Reader

Genre - Angst in the beginning, but it’s just fluff from there

Warnings - Character death, supernatural activity (you are literally a ghost)

Summary - As the resident ghost that haunts your old apartment, you take pride in scaring away those who dare move in, not wanting them to ruin your memories. Though your mission changes after a group of boys arrive. These are the four boys you allow into your space and your heart. One of them is the candle that supports you, and you are the fire that burns atop it, his beacon of light.

Word Count - 5.7k

A/N - this series is inspired from a discontinued series that @soleilhyuck​ originally wrote on her old blog. let me know if you’d like to be added to the tag list :)

Tag List - @sunflowerhae @eunsangelical @soleilhyuck @neoyoungho @carefreebubble​

You are a ghost, to put things simply. The past three years of your undead life have been spent wandering through your apartment complex, though you mostly stayed to your unit and scared away those who chose to move in, as it is your precious space. It reminds you of your family, the people who had moved away shortly after your accident because they couldn’t stand constantly walking past the place where you took your last breath.

Three years ago, you were in your second year of college and making your way back home from your on-campus job late at night when you were hit by a car as you crossed the street. You had your phone out to finally respond to the messages that were built up and read all the emails waiting in your inbox, you didn’t even see the car speeding down the road. Apparently, it was a classic drunk driving case as the light above you was red, telling them to stop, but they were too inhibited to recognize the traffic signal.

You remember the feeling of getting hit and blacking out, but when you came to, you were a few feet away from the crowd of people in front of the car. When you pushed yourself off the ground and made your way over to them to see what they were making such a big deal about, that’s when you saw it. Your lifeless body was sprawled out on the road, bruised and bloodied from hitting the hard pavement and the impact of the car.

Within the crowd were a few of your coworkers who probably left a little while after you and were making their way back home or to their dorms as well. One of them was your childhood friend who lived a few floors below you. You ran to him and said his name, trying to get his attention, but he didn’t answer. You tried again, eventually yelling and reaching out to shake him by his shoulders but you watched as your hands passed right through his frame.

You were in denial at your current state and you stayed frozen in place as he whipped out his phone and called your mom. It felt as if everything was going all too fast around you, like the Earth was rotating faster than you could keep up with. You saw your parents and little sister running across the street, all of them in their pajamas.

You watched as your mother knelt down and held your head to her chest as she wept, her tears sinking into the fabric of the shirt you were wearing.

You watched as your father spoke to the paramedics when they arrived, telling them that he had just gotten to the scene and he was alerted by your friend who stood behind your mom, looking over you as he shook his head in disbelief.

You watched as your sister, only fifteen years old, struggled to grasp the situation at hand. She had never lived a single second of her life without you. Regardless of all the fights and arguments the two of you got into, at the end of the day, you were her older sister, the person she looked up to most, the best role model she could’ve ever asked for. She stood at the edge of the crowd, too shocked to even move.

You watched as the paramedic team loaded your body onto the stretcher and into the ambulance where they tried to take your vitals, all their efforts in vain. They pronounced you dead on site, silence washing over the group of people who had been witnesses and those who knew you and stayed to offer support.

You don’t know what came over you, but you found yourself walking the path back to your apartment as if nothing had happened. Walking through the lobby, you made your way to the elevator and hit the button out of habit and waited for the familiar rattling as the elevator made its way down. The doors opened and it was empty, as usual for it being this late at night, but you didn’t mind.

When you got off at your floor and trudged through the hallway to your apartment, you reached around to get your keys out of your backpack, and tried to insert it into the doorknob, watching as your hand and key went straight through the door itself and reality came crashing down on you again.

You could only sigh as you shut your eyes willed yourself to take a daring step straight through the door that would’ve definitely stopped you in your tracks hours ago, yet when you opened your eyes, you were met with the familiar sight of the unit you spent almost your entire life in. You were numb by now, you felt tired and drained, You threw your bag on the ground of the room, not even noticing it as it simply disappeared while you flung yourself onto your bed and allowed your eyes to close while you drifted into a state of unconsciousness.

It had been three years since that fateful night, your family moving out not even a month later. You tried your damn hardest to get their attention as they packed the tan boxes, crying out that you were still here, you were still alive. But none of it ever seemed to work, they continued their movements without a single glance at you.

Ever since then, you had remained alone in your apartment, playing with those who chose to move in. Most didn’t last more than a few months, losing their mind to your antics as you closed and opened doors, slammed windows, flipped light switches, and even moved their belongings around the unit. Simple things like these were enough to make tenants terminate their contracts and move out of your home.

Part of you felt the slightest bit of guilt for doing this, but it was your space. Besides, it wasn’t as if you were hurting them. You wouldn’t call yourself a bad ghost, per say, as you were quite peaceful, never going as far as to physically harm anyone. Though you didn’t know how much longer you could stand aimlessly roaming around before you truly lost your mind and went mad.

July 2019

In the sweltering summer heat, which you fortunately could no longer feel, you were broken out of your drifting trance as you heard the front door to your apartment open. You watched from the sofa as four handsome boys walked in, lugging suitcases and boxes behind them. You peeked around the wall separating the main room from the kitchen as you heard them arguing with each other and talking about their classes.

From their conversations, you gathered that they were going to be second year students at your university. They were your age, though you were theoretically older than them, but whenever you were able to manifest the silhouette of your human body, you look just the same as you did back then, three years ago.

You were also able to learn their names as they shouted at each other, trying to figure out whose boxes were whose.

“Jeno, put that one down in the main room.” One of the boys yelled, the black haired one looked up as he found the room in question and yelled back in acknowledgement as he carried one box in his right arm while guiding a bike with the other. He seemed to be the most well built out of all of them, the black tank top he was wearing doing nothing to hide his strong arms from view.

“Hey, Jaemin, go open some windows.” Jeno commanded as he set down the box with a thump and you watched as the grey haired boy split off from the rest of them and went to open the windows next to the door that slid open to the balcony.

“Guys, come look at this view.” Jaemin exclaimed, Jeno and the brown haired boy joining him as he looked through the glass and admired the view of the city.

“Can someone please help me with this.” Said an anxious voice from the front door and you turned along with the rest of the boys, the fourth and smallest of the group as he struggled to make his way through the suitcases left haphazardly in the hallway while carrying an easel that was just as tall as him, if not taller.

“Yeah, sure thing, Renjun.” The tan skinned boy with dark chocolate colored hair walked over and laid down in his tracks, causing the shorter boy to curse in frustration and the other two to let out laughs from across the room.

“Haechan, I will literally step on you if you don’t move.” The aforementioned boy had immediately caught your eye. He was like the physical embodiment of summer itself.

You sat back down on the couch and watched as Jaemin and Renjun claimed your parents' old room since it was the largest and could fit both of them plus Renjun’s easel and other art supplies. Jeno took your younger sister’s room, finding barely space to store his bike alongside one of the walls before venturing into the shared bathroom between his and Haechan’s room. The latter boy took your room, the smallest one with a window offering the same view the balcony did, not minding the cramped environment as he didn’t bring much with him in the first place.

A feeling of annoyance built up in you when Haechan opened the window and stuck his head out the same way you used to do ever since you were younger. You couldn’t deny the fact that he was attractive, heck, all of them were, but that wasn’t enough to quell your irritation at how these boys were in your home.

As Haechan pulled away from the window, you were about to slam it shut right in front of him and begin your plan to get rid of them. But before you could move, Jeno burst into the room, telling Haechan to “come look at the refrigerator this place has, it’s got a screen and everything” with much excitement.

You left your bedroom, following Haechan out as he paused to take another look out from the glass panelling that separated the main room from the balcony, one of your most sacred places as it was where you often enjoyed doing your homework due to the cooling breeze that would occasionally blow by, ruffling your hair as it passed.

August 2019

Halfway through the month, the boys had all started their classes and you were able to learn their majors and educational plans. Renjun was an art major that was just getting his core classes out of the way before transferring to a school with a specialized art program. Jeno majored in biology with hopes to become a physical therapist or veterinarian, he was having a hard time choosing, believe me. Jaemin was a business major and you felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner with all the smooth talking he does and his way of persuading the others to do his share of chores for him. Haechan, the boy that bothered you most out of all of them, was undecided. This didn’t surprise you either as he was always on his computer playing video games, not showing much interest in anything else.

You found it entertaining to listen in on their conversations as they talked about their school activities like when Renjun joined the astrology club or when Jeno had joined the humane society club. Though Jaemin didn’t join any clubs, he had joined many other outside volunteer organizations. He especially loved talking about volunteering at the local orphanage and care homes for the elderly. He even got a job at the new cafe that apparently opened up recently just a block away from the apartment complex. Haechan, unlike the rest of them, didn’t do anything outside of school. He’d come home, do some of his homework, and immediately go to his computer to play Overwatch regardless if he was truly done with his work or not.

By this time, you had already started messing with them by fooling around with their doors and windows. None of them were truly phased though, passing it off as just the wind or the weight of the windows themselves being heavy enough to close on their own. The only one who seemed to have any suspicion of your existence was Renjun

September 2019

Around this month, the boys’ school semester was in full swing and you could truly see what type of students they were. Renjun and Jeno were both very organized and self-disciplined, wanting to finish their work before they allowed themselves to relax. Haechan and Jaemin were the opposite of that, wanting to relax first and recharge their mind before doing any school work. Jaemin always made sure to finish his work though, even pulling a few all-nighters unlike Haechan.

Even though you’ve continued to mess around with them, they were seemingly unbothered by your antics, only blaming themselves when you started misplacing their objects like when you moved Haechan’s keys from the kitchen island to the coffee table in the living room or when you moved Jeno’s notebook from his desk to the bathroom counter. It was quite funny though, when Jaemin came across the notebook after using the toilet, yelling out into the hallway “hey Jeno! Were you reading your biology notes while taking a dump or something? You forgot your notebook in here.”

Jeno came in muttering as Jaemin finished washing his hands, “I could’ve sworn I left it on my desk when I finished taking notes” his voice trailing off at the end as he reached up and scratched the back of his head while taking the notebook from the counter and making his way back to his room.

Again, it was only Renjun who seemed to have any amount of brain cells that were alert of your presence. One evening, you were watching him paint in his shared room and you had accidentally knocked down the cup that was holding his paintbrushes, wincing as it crashed down onto the floor from his desk. “Ah!” He had exclaimed as he whipped around from the canvas, taking in the sight of his brushes scattered on the floor and his cup rolling beneath his chair. He turned around again, peering around his easel, checking to see if the window was shut, “I swear this place must be haunted” was what he said when he realized that the window was indeed securely shut.

October 2019

As fall started to settle in, the leaves changing color and the air growing colder, you were given less opportunities to play around with windows and doors, forcing you to come up with more ideas to get them out. Your next momentous idea came to you on Halloween night as you were spread out on the seemingly unoccupied armchair, watching the horror movie the boys had put on. All four of them were crammed onto the couch because it had the best view of the TV and none of them wanted to sit on the floor or in another chair where they’d have to turn their neck to look at the screen.

You weren’t really a fan of horror movies but it’s not like you could complain. Besides, they were younger than all of the previous tenants and seemed to be active users of Netflix, allowing you to see all the new things that had been added to the streaming service. You found it funny when you noticed that they all had their own profiles on Jaemin’s account seeing as how he was the only one actually making enough money to pay for it.

It was about half an hour into the movie when the first jump scare happened. You laughed as Jeno practically threw the bowl of popcorn that was peacefully resting in his lap into the air, most of the popcorn landing on Haechan who was sitting next to him. “Wait, guys, did you hear that?” Renjun asked as he looked in your direction, pupils searching for the source of your laugh while you sat frozen in shock.

“It was probably just the neighbors.” Haechan said nonchalantly as he picked pieces of popcorn off his head and shoved them into his mouth.

Renjun shook his head, “no, I swear it sounded like it was in this room.”

“Dude, if you’re that scared of the movie then you don’t have to watch it.” Jeno said, earning a giggle from Jaemin.

“I’m not scared, I just thought I heard something.” Renjun mumbled as he slowly turned his attention back to the movie.

Only a few people could hear you and even fewer could actually see you. You were used to being totally invisible to the wide majority of tenants who moved in, not many of them believing in ghosts until you began your pranks and scared them into realizing that ghosts do indeed exist. The fact that Renjun had heard you was enough to let you know that he was a believer already and you planned on using this to your advantage soon, and by soon you meant within the next hour or so.

Right after the boys witnessed a gruesome death in the movie, you had turned off the TV, pressing the power button on the back of the monitor to match the timing of the characters’ unconscious body dropping to the floor. They initially thought it was part of the movie, that it was a cut to a new scene, but they soon realized this was not the case as the TV screen stays black.

Renjun’s eyes went wide as he frantically searched for the TV remote on the couch and coffee table in front of them, his breath getting stuck in his throat as he saw it sitting atop a stack of magazines, certain that he would’ve noticed if anyone had moved to grab it. “This TV doesn’t have an auto-timer feature does it?” He asked, his voice quivering in fear.

“I-I don’t think so.” Jeno admitted, clearly also quite shaken up.

Jaemin glanced around the room before remarking, “the power is still on though so I don’t know why it would have shut off.”

“This is what I mean when I say this place is haunted,” Renjun burst out, abruptly standing up and letting the blanket they were all sharing fall to the floor, “I’m going to bed before anything else bad can happen.” You smiled at his innocence thinking he could just sleep away your presence.  As he passed you on his way to his room, you whispered his name and held back a snicker as he jumped, his head whipping back and forth to find you. “Who’s there?” The other three boys just laughed at him, enjoying the show they thought he was putting on. “Guys, I’m being serious.”

“None of us said anything.” Haechan remarked, obviously thinking that his friend was going insane.

In Renjun’s panic, you had moved to get out of his supposed path to his bedroom, but you weren’t ready when he suddenly made his way back to the boys on the couch, threatening to punch them. He walked straight through your form and froze as the cold air hit his skin, causing the hair on his arms to rise.

“What? Cat got your tongue?” Jaemin teased.

“Did you guys really not feel that gust of air?” Renjun asked, eyes blown wide in disbelief.

Jeno shook his head, “nope,” he stated, popping the ‘p’, “I think you should really get to bed though, you stayed up kinda late last night so maybe you’re just imagining things.”

Renjun stomped his foot angrily before turning on his heel and storming off towards his room, “fine, but don’t come crying to me when this ghost starts messing with you guys too.”

Sure enough, that’s exactly what you did. Later that night, when they were all asleep, you had come up with your own way to mess with each of them, mentally high fiving yourself as you made your way to Haechan’s room, which was actually your room.

You proceeded to open the single window, along with all the doors, even the sliding one for the closet. You took it upon yourself to empty the contents of his pencil case, placing them in the shape of a sun in the middle of the floor, remembering how he called himself ‘full sun’ though admittedly it resembled something more of a summoning circle so you quickly scrapped the idea, opting to simply just scatter them randomly.

Happy with your work, you passed through the shared bathroom, which was surprisingly neat for two boys, your gaze landing on Jeno who was letting out light snores as you entered his room. He was the neatest out of all of them, his desk always cleaned up before going to bed, his outfit for the next day already planned out and resting on his chair. You knew how much he valued his cleanliness and organization, so those were the things you were going to ruin.

You opened all of his desk drawers, taking a few things out and placing them around the room, even into different drawers that they didn’t belong in. You then took apart his stack of books, opening them to random pages and placing them on top of each other in any which way, making your own precarious leaning tower. The finishing touch was when you turned his clothes inside out and laid them on the back of his chair. You looked over at his sleeping body, snoring even louder than before, smiling to yourself as you moved to the last room.

Jaemin didn’t have much on his side of the room for you to play around with but you noticed his hand was hanging off the bed so you decided to try out one of the pranks that you’d learned about from your friends back in high school where if you placed someone’s hand in warm water while sleeping, it would make them pee in their sleep.

You made your way into the kitchen and willed your power to manifest your semi-solid human body, needing it to grab a cup from the drying rack and turn on the sink to fill it with water. As you popped it into the microwave and pressed the buttons to heat it up for 2 minutes, cringing at the obnoxious sound of the beeping, remembering the horrid couple that brought it in with them.

While waiting for the microwave to finish it’s job, you leaned against the counter, eyeing the mountain of dishes in the sink in disgust, wondering just when will these boys actually clean up. They were relatively neat for a bunch of boys but that doesn’t mean they were in an acceptable range of overall cleanliness, barely of them making any use of the washing machine in the hallway. You stopped the microwave just before it went off, and grabbed the warm cup out before making sure to reset the timer and close the door.

You turned around, trying your best to balance the cup and not spill any until you looked up and saw a wide-eyed Renjun standing in the doorway. “W-who are you?”

You dropped the plastic cup out of shock, the warm water spilling all over the floor, not that you could feel it or care about it. “No one” you responded quickly, before forcing your body to revert back to it’s normal invisible state.

“Wait no, come back. You’re the ghost from earlier aren’t you?” Renjun pleaded as you moved slowly to stand behind him, making sure not to cause any gusts of air. “What’s your name, if you don’t mind me asking, and why are you here?” He questioned, staring at the place you were previously.

“Get out.”

You watch the hairs on his neck rise as he froze in place and began stuttering “P-p-please don’t hurt me, I just want to help you.”

“If you want to help me then get out” you jeered.

“Don’t you wonder why you’re still here? I can’t just leave you to endlessly haunt this place,” Renjun said, trying to reason with you. You sighed realizing that he was one of those types of believers, and he wouldn’t be leaving as easily as you thought. You left the kitchen, the breeze following you signaling to Renjun that you were moving, “isn’t there any way I can help you?”

You didn’t respond, only heading through the living room to the balcony where you turned around and sat down in a lawn chair one of the boys had set outside, your gaze settling back on Renjun’s in the hallway. You heard him sigh as he walked into the kitchen and then some shuffling around as he was probably cleaning up the water you spilled before he headed back to his room.

November 2019

As the weather grew colder and their workloads grew heavier, you often found the boys exploring new ways to warm themselves up. Jeno took to impromptu workout sessions even when he was fully clothed in a hoodie and sweatpants. Renjun opted to simply drink warm drinks while the funnies of them all was Jaemin who preferred to wrap himself in blankets, keeping himself in his cocoon as he moved throughout the apartment, even when he went to use the bathroom and when he cooked. You didn’t mind those things, the only coping mechanism that really bothered you was the scented candles that Haechan would use.

He’d often go to bed, forgetting to put out the candle and you’d watch as the hot wax melted down, some of it dripping onto the desk it was on, your desk to be specific. You swatted at the flame, effectively extinguishing it as you slammed the window shut, rousing Haechan from his sleep. Seeing as how nothing was out of the ordinary, he fell back asleep within a few seconds making you scoff at his ignorance at possibly burning the whole place down.

This became a regular occurrence as Haechan’s assignments grew in their numbers and intensity, forcing him to stay up later and work through the cold of the nights. You were glad he was making an effort to keep up with his schooling, but not when those obnoxious candles were left ablaze every single night as he drifted off into dreamland.

December 2019

Renjun had finished his midterms the earliest out of all of the boys, meaning that he got to stay in while all the others still went back to campus. You enjoyed being in his room while he painted, liking the ambiance it gave off. You often found yourself drifting in and watching him as his brush ran across the canvas.

Though one day, as you sat on Jaemin’s bed on the other side of the room, he suddenly spoke out. “I know you’re there.” He didn’t stop his motions, only dipping his brush back into the orange paint he was using before returning his attention back to the sunset inspired painting he was creating. “You know so much about me, yet I know nothing about you. Don’t you think that’s a little unfair?” He stated as he turned to grab another brush, dipping it into the royal blue resting on his palette. “If you were going to hurt us, you would’ve done something by now. We’ve been here for nearly five months at this point and you only seem to pull harmless pranks on us.”

You materialized behind him before speaking. “Is it too much to want my own home for myself?” He jumped a little, much to your amusement.

“I’m sorry?” he said, not seeming to understand what you were getting at.

“This is my home, I want you to leave, let me live in peace.”

“I don’t think you understand” he began, “you’re not even alive. Your spirit may be but you have no physical embodiment to live here.”

You bring a hand up to his cheek, his brush stopping in its tracks, “I’m more alive than you think, Renjun.”

“I don’t even know your name, so how am I supposed to believe--”

“Who are you even talking to?” Both of you whip around, not remembering having heard Haechan come through the front door, too immersed in your own conversation.

Renjun suddenly notices your floating blue lit figure next to him, “her! I was talking to her” he exclaims.

“Who?” Haechan asks, clearly confused.

“Don’t you see her?”

“No, Renjun, I do not see her or anyone else in the room for the matter. I think those paints must be toxic for you.” He remarked, walking out of the room.

“Haechan, no, wait-- come back” Renjun pleaded as he scrambled to force Haechan to see what he was seeing, which you knew was impossible since Haechan was a non-believer.

In Renjun’s haste, he kicked one of the legs of his easel, tipping it over. Before it could hit the floor, you grabbed it, causing it looking as if it were hovering in the air. But to Renjun, who could very much see you, it made him that much more certain that you were real and it made him that much more persistent to figure out why you were here.

Barely even a day has passed since then when you learn that Renjun is able to see you even when you weren’t in your misty human form. He could see you as you floated throughout the rooms and wandered through the hallways. You only realized this after watching his eyes follow you as you made your way from the kitchen to the living room, passing in front of the TV that he was currently watching.

“You can see me?” you asked, not believing that he actually could.

He seemed just as surprised as you, his mouth open in surprise. “I-I think so?” A few seconds went by as you both tried to process what was going on. “Why can I see you and hear you but the others can't?” He asked.

“They don’t believe in ghosts, or at least not as much as you do.” You explained, shrugging your shoulders apprehensively.

Renjun leaned back into the couch, his face showing just how shocked he was, the realization of being able to communicate with a ghost only now hitting him. “Can you at least tell me why you’re still here?”

You scoff before responding to him, “I told you, this is my home and I want you and your friends out.”

“I’m sorry, but we’re just a group of broke college students. We don’t have anywhere else to go. I promise that we’ll move out at the end of the school year.” You rolled your eyes at him as you move to sit out on the balcony, ready to figure out a new way to force them out before then.

Two weeks later on new year’s eve, being the ‘broke college students’ they were, the boys had settled down in the living room with the TV on as they watched the ball drop while eating instant ramen and drinking from the two cheap bottles of bourbon they had bought earlier in the week.

Growing up, you had always thought it was fun to play with sparklers and watch the fireworks from the balcony of your unit. But now days you found it stupid, knowing that humans believed it would drive away bad sprits, yet little did they know that it really didn’t do much except irritate them. You would know from your own personal experience.

You and Renjun had gotten used to his ability to see you, this newfound ability causing you to hang around him a little more, though the others were convinced he was going insane. They were just about ready to hand him over to the mental ward for schizophrenia when he turned to you asking “are you okay with all the fireworks going off?” referring to the channel they had the TV set on.

“Yeah, it’s fine. They’re annoying at most but I don’t care.”

Haechan dropped his set of chopsticks, his eyes and mouth agape as he stared at Renjun. “What was that?” he questioned, clearly in shock.

“Oh, you can hear y/n?” Renjun questioned, not at all phased as he finished chewing on the noodles in his mouth.

“Who is ‘y/n?’” Haechan asked, bewildered.

“She’s the ghost that lives here, the one I was telling you guys about since like, Halloween?” He said, looking over at you for confirmation, to which you nodded.

“Yeah, Halloween.” You acknowledged, Haechan’s eyes landing on you as he began to see your faint silhouette sitting next to Renjun.

Jaemin, with an eyebrow raised in concern, is the first to break the sudden silence that fell across the room. “Okay Renjun, we’re taking you to see a psychologist tomorrow.”

“No guys, y/n is real, I swear,” Renjun protested, “Haechan can hear her and I can see her too. Look, y/n hold this.” He said, handing you a napkin. It rested on your hand before floating through you and landing on the floor.

You watched as Jeno’s eyes grew wider and his eyebrows raised as he became the slightest bit skeptical of your existence whilst Jaemin was still unamused, convinced that it was just a trick of the wind. Before they could say anything else, voices could be heard from the TV as the crowd started to count down from 30, effectively distracting the boys from their previous discussion.

You noticed that one of them didn’t return his attention to the TV, however. Haechan’s gaze was still fixed on you as your glowing misty blue figure became clearer and clearer to him.

A/N - this series is inspired from a discontinued series that @hyuckgasm​ originally wrote on her old blog. let me know if you’d like to be added to the tag list for Candle Light :)

[threeletterslife]

04 | Redefining Destiny

→ previous | next

→ summary: You were convinced you were in love with him. A former member of the mafia in the states, that is. It was true love. Destiny. Until one day you wake up with a memory lapse; then that love is replaced with hatred. The thought of marriage is substituted with revenge. If your love with Jeon Jungkook really was destiny, you’d fall head over heels in love again. But if only he weren’t such a hot, goading asshole.

→ pairing/rating: jungkook x reader | PG-13

→ genre: 70% fluff, 25% crack, 5% angst | e2l!au & soulmate!au

→ warnings: profanity

→ wordcount: 2.8k

Maybe you should really get your stomach checked out because you've been waking up in the middle of the night or early dawn for three consecutive days now. Mornings aren't looking so pretty (though they never really have been for you). But still.

You obviously weren't in pain. You hadn't changed any part of your lifestyle. You were healthy—the last time you checked. So why on Earth have you been waking up arbitrarily when you were supposed to get your rest?? Your little night-owl phase is literally making you late everywhere.

This is actually the fourth time you've been late to your ethics class—the other three times had been because 1) you'd lost your way in the campus 2) you were charging your dead laptop 3) you were late from a last-minute coffee run.

You quickly slip into the lecture room an embarrassing eighteen minutes late, praying to the Heavens that your professor wouldn't mind too much. But once your eyes scan across the room, you realize you have other problems than your professor scolding you for being tardy; the class seems absolutely filled.

You'd be lucky to sit on the floor at this point!

Sighing, you awkwardly fidget in the back of the room, squinting your eyes to find any empty seats. Usually, you'd take a seat in the front somewhere, but the front row is completely filled, which leaves you to reside in other options. Your heart leaps with joy when you finally catch sight of an empty seat near the back corner of the room. Without a second thought, you make a beeline towards it, pushing the chair out and nearly collapsing into it. Yes! you think, I've claimed it!

But your victory is short-lived. The moment you turn around, you see what you don't want to see only seven minutes after waking up: Jeon Jungkook. Why him?? Why on Earth is it always him??? Your face scrunches habitually and you let out a small, "Ugh."

"Ugh, to you too," Jungkook whispers. "Another rough night?"

"Whatever Mr. Dark Circles," you retort. You're not even going to bother mentioning to Jungkook about your crazy sleep cycle at this point—he wouldn't care either. "Um, did I miss anything?" you ask awkwardly, slipping your laptop out of your backpack and opening the screen. 78%. Thank goodness. Other than the fact you were late to lecture this morning and you were sitting next to your nemesis, this morning seems to be kind to you.

"Of course you missed a lot," Jungkook whispers. "Shut up. I'm trying to listen." He stares straight ahead, ignoring your presence as he pretends to pay attention to your professor who's been oblivious to your and Jungkook's everyday morning banter as usual.

"Fine," you mutter. Don't know what I expected from him. "Rude."

You can get the notes from another person in your study group, you suppose. So you try to shift comfortably in your seat, opening up your document of accumulated lecture notes as you begin to type away on your laptop.

But the next thing you know, someone's tapping on your shoulder and you jump awake. "Huh?" you cry, rubbing your eyes and looking around the lecture room. Oh, shoot. Students are beginning to file out of the heavy double doors, which makes you gasp. You'd fallen asleep during the lecture. That's literally unheard of. The few minutes of missed sleep must be getting to you.

You turn appreciatively to the person who'd woken you up and spared you the embarrassment of your professor, for goodness sake, shaking you awake from the back of his classroom. But you frown when you realize that person is Jungkook.

"You shouldn't even have come to class if you were just gonna snore," he tells you rudely, swinging his own, sleek black backpack over his shoulder.

"I do not snore!" you retort though you do actually have a serious habit of snoring when you're just the slightest bit fatigued. "You know what Jeon? You can go screw yourself if you're just gonna be so mean."

"Huh," Jungkook says, cocking his head so that a bit of his soft, wavy hair falls over his eyes. "I was going to give you the notes, but now I guess I'll have to go fuck myself."

Your eyes turn wide as you stand up from your chair. "Wait—"

"Bye, Y/N!" Jungkook grins as he leaves you stranded and ultimately note-less.

"Fine!" you yell after him. "I don't need your notes anyway!"

It was insane how much he managed to get on your nerves. No matter how many sleepless nights you prayed to God to show you just a sliver of forgiveness for Jeon Jungkook, that boy would just waltz into your life again and mess up everything. It was no use. You'll always dislike Jeon Jungkook for being a complete and utter jerk.

"Maybe it's God's way of guiding me to forgive him?" you say, running a hand through your messy, unbrushed hair. "I mean, there's no other reason we're always, somehow always meeting!"

"Or fate really fucking hates you," Yoojung laughs.

"Or it's just rotten luck, Y/N," Chayoung says.

"Just when I thought he was a changed man, you know, offering me the notes that I missed, he literally said sike and left me stranded," you groan.

"He's an asshole," Chayoung says. "Don't associate yourself with him because it's giving you stress. Honey, you have dark circles under your eyes!"

"I haven't been getting a goodnight's rest," you sigh. "It's not even insomnia, though! I just wake up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason, but if I wait it out, I fall asleep again."

"Maybe you're nervous about something," Chayoung says. "Maybe your body's telling you that you're too tense."

"Or you're dying and you need to get this condition checked out," Yoojung says.

You laugh. "That's most definitely not it, Yoojung. Ugh, whatever," you sigh, shaking your head as your roommates look sympathetically at you. "We're still down for the flower festival, right?"

"We wouldn't miss it for the world!" Chayoung yells. "Did you know they're gonna bring Kevin Kang?? He's gonna sing! And dance!!!"

"God, I'm exploding just thinking about him!" Yoojung squeals.

"We're going for the flowers, not the celebrity," you giggle.

"WAIT," Yoojung gasps. "Maybe you're subconsciously excited about the flower festival!"

"And that's why you're waking up during the night!" Chayoung exclaims.

You hum, thinking to yourself. There was really no other reason to blame your hideous sleep schedule on. So you shrug. "There's only one way to find out," you say with a grin.

The flower festival has always been one of your favorite parts of studying at your university. Annually, the flower vendors all around the country come to show off their beautiful creations, showcasing them in bouquets, wreaths and flower crowns.

But you like flowers the best when they're in their natural state. Either when they're sprouting from the ground with their roots strongly planted in the soil or when you receive just one flower—just a single stem will do. You love the flower festival because it happens in the best sunflower blossoming season, and the sunflowers were exactly why you were nearly obsessed with attending the festival.

You put on a bit more makeup on your face to hide your ugly dark circles and picked out your favorite summery dress, pairing it with Sunny, your most esteemed purse. Getting into the flowery feeling of the festival almost felt obligatory at this point.

Usually, you go to the festival with your roommates—or anyone's who's willing to stare at flowers for a whole day—but ever since they added celebrities into the mix, the place has been crowded. Consequently, the flower booths are nearly empty as everyone flocks around the stage. But you don't mind. More room for you, who's actually here to admire the flowers.

You've lost your friends hours ago, but you know they're somewhere in the sea of fangirls, screaming over Kevin Kang—someone you acknowledge is talented, but just doesn't pique your interest. Now you're helplessly alone at the bright flower festival, all dressed up in a pretty dress but with no one to keep you company. You suppose you don't mind that much. But it is a bit strange. You're usually always surrounded by people. But a little solitude doesn't hurt, I guess.

Once again, you've subconsciously gravitated towards the sunflower booth. You let out a little squeal of glee inside your head when you realize you're totally matching with the vibrant yellow petals of your favorite flower.

Sunflowers don't have a special smell that permeates the air like other, more popular, flowers do, but they do have a distinct, earthy aroma that surrounds them. You're a total sucker for that. So you bend down, sniffing the pretty flowers and sighing out as the familiar, terrene fragrance fills your head. Beautiful.

Maybe you've never been a total nature freak, but you're a freak for sunflowers, that's for sure. You smile, taking a small step back to turn and check out some other sunflower booths. But you bump into someone, nearly stepping on their toes, which makes you stumble back and land butt-first on the dirty ground.

"Oh gosh!" you exclaim, trying to get up from your quite embarrassing fall but having no apparent success. "I'm so sorry!"

"I'm sorry," the man laughs good-naturedly in a light, silvery voice. "I made you fall!" He reaches out a hand to help you up, and you almost take it. Until you recognize his voice. When your head jerks up, you gasp.

"You!" you yell viciously, scrambling up from the dirt and dusting the back of your dress off. You glare daggers into your enemy's eyes.

"Aw, shit," Jungkook sighs. "I didn't know that was you. But now I'm kinda glad you fell," he laughs. "Quite the drama queen. And it looks like the ever-so-popular girl is here alone. Hilarious."

You frown, straightening your dress as you cross your arms over your chest. "Shut up. I was just going to call my friends," you lie. "I just lost them. And besides, you're here alone, so should you really be saying all that?" you huff. "Why are you even here?"

"What? I can't enjoy looking at the sunflowers?" Jungkook retorts.

"That's your favorite flower too?" you ask incredulously. "Say sike right now."

"What's the opposite of sike?" Jungkook snorts. "That is my favorite flower. Got any problem with it?"

"Yes," you say. "Why sunflowers? Why? And Why here?"

Jungkook rolls his eyes. "I woke up one day and I liked sunflowers. I heard there was a flower festival here, and the next thing I know, I'm here. Are you done interrogating me?"

"You can't just wake up one day and like sunflowers," you say. "You're lying."

"Fine. Don't believe me then," Jungkook says. "You never believe me, anyways."

"What's that supposed to mean?" you say.

Jungkook stays silent. After a moment's more of hesitation he sighs. "Whatever. I'm going to the sunflower patch."

"Wait!" you say before he begins to walk away. "I'm going there too." He gives you a weird look. "No, I'm not suggesting we go together, but they have really good honey sunflower ice cream there," you quickly add.

"Honey sunflower ice cream, huh?" Jungkook says. "Never tried it."

You gasp, stepping back and placing a hand on your heart. "You... what?"

"Never tried it," Jungkook repeats.

"No way. You've never lived until you've tried the honey sunflower ice cream, Jeon!" you exclaim. "Now I'm obligated to take you there. Ice cream's on me. I hate you, but there's no one I hate enough not to introduce the best flavor in the world to them."

Jungkook cocks his head, staring at your excited self with curiosity. "You sure?"

You scoff. "Yes. Hurry up before I change my mind."

"Okay then. I'm trying the ice cream and then I'm leaving," he tells you.

"Whatever," you say right back.

And that is exactly how two enemies decided to share a day in civilized harmony together. Even after Jungkook got his precious honey sunflower ice cream, the two of you decided not to separate—for reasons of convenience—nothing else. But hanging out with Jungkook wasn't as bad as you thought.

Though 80% of the time was the two of you bickering about the littlest things, it was also quite refreshing to talk to the man you deemed as your nemesis. He didn't seem so evil upfront. Jungkook seemed more than a human with a sharp tongue and bad intentions. He's actually pretty funny—much more than he lets on—and is an excellent listener to your never-ending anecdotes.

At this point, Jungkook's on his third honey sunflower ice cream, and you're on your fourth sunflower lollipop as you walk through the sunflower field. You're so close to him that your arms touch every time you step forward. You don't really mind and neither does he. If anyone didn't know any better, they'd think you two are friends.

"Hey," Jungkook suddenly says.

"Yeah?" you answer.

"I got you something," he says.

"Wait—"

Jungkook suddenly stops walking and so do you as you watch him pull something out of his pocket. It's a packet of—

"Sunflower seeds?" you say. "When did you get that?" You give him a funny face.

Jungkook huffs. "If you didn't want it you could've just said..." He looks a bit saddened as he shrugs. "I thought since you loved sunflowers so much, you could plant some." He quickly shakes his head. "Not that I'm trying to be nice. This is just because you got me ice cream."

"I-I..." you stutter, massaging your head as you step back. Your mind reels and you blink rapidly. "Wow," you breath. "No, um, thank you, Jungkook... I love it. I just... wow. I'm getting major déjà vu."

It's Jungkook's turn to give you a funny look. "Déjà vu of the flower festival?"

"No..." you say, frowning as you take the packet of seeds that he hands out to you. "Weirdly, it's déjà vu of you giving me these sunflower seeds."

Jungkook snorts. "Did you fall down a bit too hard?"

"Hmph," you huff. "I've been running on coffee these days. I guess you can't really trust my thinking at this point."

"No wonder you have dark circles under your eyes," Jungkook says. "Getting ready for that internship abroad is tiring, huh?"

"How do you know about?" you ask.

"Everyone knows about it," Jungkook says. "You're a law prodigy. We all know."

You laugh. "That's flattering. But I dunno. I'm waking up at weird hours of the night."

"Me too," Jungkook says before he can stop himself.

"Wow, we actually have something in common," you giggle. "That's the first."

Jungkook laughs. "Is it really, though? Don't we have a mutual hatred for each other?"

"That doesn't count, Jeon."

"I think it does."

"No, it doesn't."

"Yes, it does."

"Oh my gosh, no, it doesn't."

"YES IT GODDAMN DOES."

"NO, IT FREAKING DOESN'T."

"YOU KNOW WHAT, Y/N—"

The rather immature banter is interrupted by the ringtone of your phone playing some Christian music that Jungkook swears he's heard somewhere, but he can't remember where. It's strange because he doesn't exactly listen to Christian music, yet he's able to recognize this song straight away.

You roll your eyes at him, quickly picking up your phone from your purse and accepting the call.

"Hello?" you say. "Yeah. I'm at the sunflower patch. Yeah. No... Of course, I'm alone. Who do you think I'd be with? I'll come to you guys. Yeah. Okay, bye." You slip your phone back in your purse, sighing as you turn to Jungkook. "I have to go."

Jungkook huffs. "Whatever. Go, then."

You frown. "Fine." You give him a look before you begin to stomp off.

"AND JUST SO YOU KNOW," Jungkook yells at your back. "I'M NOT SOME NOBODY."

"AND JUST SO YOU KNOW," you say without turning your head to look at the man. "THIS NEVER HAPPENED!"

Jungkook sees you clutch the packet of sunflowers seeds he'd gifted you as you quickly walk away. He frowns at your figure, growing smaller the further you are.

He'll admit that the time he spent with you today wasn't too bad. But somehow, the two of you always left on a bad note. Oh well. Jungkook sighs as he finishes the rest of his honey sunflower ice cream. At least I got free dessert.

—previous | next

—masterpost

[middleofnowhere92]

Jetka for @the-messenger-hawk for my ATLA Valentine’s Day Oneshots

Conversation Hearts

Chapters: 1/1 Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Jet/Sokka (Avatar), Jet & Sokka (Avatar) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - College/University, College, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Modern Era Summary: It's Valentine's day, not that Jet gives a fuck. He almost gives a fuck about his midterm tomorrow, so he sits waiting for his new tutor.

Read on ao3 or below the cut 

Jet leaned back precariously in his chair in the athlete student center. He grabbed his pencil and flicked it at Longshot who was across the room with his tutor, some girl in engineering named Smellerbee. Pipsqueak and his tutor, Aang, laughed at Jet’s shenanigans as they packed up their things and left the study area. Jet huffed some of his unruly hair out of his face.  

He wished Aang was still his tutor, but the advisor for student athletes had switched around schedules with the spring semester. Now Jet was getting someone new. He chewed on the chalky heart candy in his mouth. It wasn’t the best taste, but it satisfied his incessant need to chew on something.

Longshot and Smellerbee packed up too and soon Jet was left alone, waiting for some tutor that probably wasn’t even gonna show up. He glanced at the clock. He really should just leave. Tutoring hours were done. Jet guessed whoever it was had a Valentine’s date that was more important than tutoring him.

He should just leave, but he had a midterm tomorrow in his agriculture econ class. He needed at least a C to play on Saturday. He glanced down at his blank study guide that he should have been filling out throughout the semester. The stress gnawed at him, so he gnawed on more conversation hearts.

The door was calling him, telling him to just leave and sleep through tomorrow’s exam like he typically would, but finally someone walked into the room.

Jet immediately recognized Sokka.

He also immediately recognized that he was fucked for tomorrow’s exam.

Sokka barely looked at him, “Look, I’m not in the mood to deal with your fucking bullshit. Let’s just go over your study guide so I can get paid and we can both go home.”  Jet continued balancing in his chair, “It’s good to see you too, Sokka.”

The other boy didn’t even look at him. He unceremoniously dropped his backpack, plopped down in the chair and pulled Jet’s empty study guide towards him. Jet tossed up a few hearts and caught them in his mouth. Sokka’s gaze never left his unimpressively blank study guide.

Jet, always uncomfortable with silence, shifted the discomfort to Sokka, “I’m surprised Zuko isn’t taking you out tonight, or are you doing something later?” Jet wasn’t college smart, but he was people smart. He knew exactly how to push people’s buttons. He took a perverse joy in riling up Sokka, only because he made it so easy.

“I explicitly said I’m not in the mood for your fucking brand of bullshit,” Sokka gritted out. His hands were grasping the meaningless study guide, causing almost enough tension in it for it to rip. Jet hadn’t calculated on Sokka getting this worked up over a simple question about his boyfriend.

Jet wasn’t one to apologize. He liked Sokka enough to almost want to, but he popped another candy heart in his mouth instead. The chalky taste seemed more unpleasant, but he swirled the candy around his mouth anyway, lodging it in the back corner of his jaw right above his molar.

Sokka shoved the paper back in front of Jet. He looked exasperated as he said, “You should try to fill it out. See what you know.” Jet scoffed, “I’m at tutoring because I don’t know jack shit.” Sokka’s cheeks sucked in like he had bitten something sour . He hissed venomously, “Two hours of tutoring isn’t going to make you pass an exam.” “Woulda helped if you had shown up on time,” Jet drawled as he leaned back in his chair, tossing up another heart to catch in his mouth.

Sokka barely moved, but his knee twisted just so, knocking Jet’s off balance. He sat up on the floor and glared at Sokka. He got up, thankful that he had just swallowed a heart and didn’t choke. He stood leaning on the chair, “What the fuck?”

Sokka pushed away from the table, turning on Jet, his eyes glassy and red, “I told you I couldn’t take your bullshit today. I fucking walked from the other side of campus, because the buses aren’t running, because there’s a little fucking snow on the ground. Why can’t people handle a few inches of fucking snow? But then I get here and I have to fucking tutor you and I tell you I can’t deal with your bullshit, but you serve it up steaming hot, because you are the king of all the assholes in the world and you can't help but be a douche canoe. No, not today, let’s just press all of Sokka’s buttons-”

Jet climbed over his chair and sat in the one Sokka had previously been occupying. He squeezed the other boy’s smaller hand just once as tears started to fall down Sokka’s cheeks. Jet fumbled for maybe the first time ever, “Shit, Sokka I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-” Sokka hiccupped loudly, his one tear morphing into a full on ugly cry.

“Zuko-" He wailed as he cried. “Broke up with me today.” His body shuddered in an effort to breathe through the sobs, “He was supposed to drive me here,” the last part came out as a broken off wail, “but we’re not together anymore.” Jet still held his hand drawing circles with his thumb.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” the word and the genuine feeling behind it were foreign to Jet.  Sokka looked at him, his blue eyes still glassy and pink. He pulled his hand away from Jet’s and wiped his eyes, “S’not your fault. Sorry, we should really do your study guide.”

Jet cocked his head to the side, like an overgrown confused puppy. He chewed on a candy heart and asked, "You sure? I can say we did tutoring. You'll get paid and you can go home." Sokka shook his head, his chin length hair shifting with the movement, "No, that's okay." Jet rolled his eyes at Sokka's decency, but scooted back into his own chair.

As they worked through the study guide Jet couldn’t help but focus more on Sokka than the material. He was an engineering and business major, not an Ag major like Jet. But the material came easily to Sokka as he glanced over the textbook that Jet had never even cracked open.

At the end of the two hours, Jet shoved his completed study guide in his book and crammed both in his backpack. He didn’t miss the wince from Sokka at the sound of the paper crumpling. Jet smirked and slung his backpack over his shoulders.

He stilted his steps to be more in line with Sokka's smaller ones. He dumped a few candy hearts into his large palm. He glanced at the pastel candies, holding out one to Sokka that read Let's get busy .

Sokka glared at him as they pushed the doors and the cold February air greeted them. He pelted the heart back at Jet, who caught it in his big mouth. Jet raised his hands up in triumph.

Sokka just shook his head as they walked. Jet bumped his side into Sokka's shorter shoulder. The shorter guy looking over at the taller athlete, "Thanks." Jet tossed up another candy and caught it in his mouth, "For what?"

Sokka shrugged shuffling in the snow, "I don't feel as shitty as I did." Jet grinned, his teeth not perfectly straight, "See, you do need my bullshit."

Jet skidded with chaotic glee across the icy sidewalk in his slides, his socks soaking in bits of snow. He thought about offering Sokka a night to forget Zuko, taking the pretty boy back to his apartment. This could be Jet’s only shot at making Sokka his. But something in him made him keep his thought to himself.

He knew how in love Sokka had been with Zuko. They did seem dam near perfect for each other. Jet calculated as he tossed a snowball that purposefully just missed Sokka's hair.

He didn't want Sokka just for a night. If he got him he couldn't just let go. Tonight, Jet had actually gotten through the wall that always seemed to be between the two of them.

He jogged, not using his full speed as Sokka scooped up snow and flung it, hitting Jet on the back of his neck. Sokka's eyes were back to their normal clear blue. His laugh was enough to warm Jet, who was just wearing a hoodie as he brushed off the snow.

He put his hands up, "I surrender! There's a pizza place open up here. Wanna stop?"

Jet's heart seemed to stop as Sokka chewed on his lip, debating his answer. He nodded, "Sure. Can't turn down pizza." Jet followed him in the small dive. They ordered and sat. Surrounded by other couples, as they debated over whether pineapple was a viable pizza topping.

Their legs or elbows would inevitably brush as Jet swung on the stool he was perched on. He kept throwing out new topics for debate, getting a thrill over seeing Sokka's eyes get fiery over whether Pepsi or Coke was better.

As Jet finished off his fifth slice of pizza, Sokka glanced in disgust at the small pink box on the counter between them, "I don't know how you can eat those things."

Jet shrugged as he stuffed the last of the chalky candies in his mouth, "I'll put just about anything in my mouth." "Noted," Sokka quipped. The two of them burst out in laughter.

As they stepped back outside, Jet looked at Sokka through his shaggy hair. His slides scraped against the salted side walk, "Same thing next week?" The cold was making Sokka's cheeks tint a pretty shade of pink. He rolled his blue eyes, "You wouldn't need tutoring if you just paid attention."

Their bickering continued as they walked, lost in conversation.